FCC Investigates BBC’s Editing of Trump Speech

On Wednesday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr reached out to leaders at the BBC, NPR, and PBS, announcing the initiation of an investigation into the BBC’s editing of a January 6 speech by President Donald Trump. This information comes directly from sources at Breitbart News.

In his letter to BBC Director-General Tim Davie, NPR’s Katherine Maher, and PBS President and CEO Paula Karger, Carr expressed concern about revelations that the BBC had deliberately distorted the President’s speech from January 2021.

Including PBS and NPR in the investigation was significant, as both distribute BBC content in the United States.

In his communication, Carr pointed out that the BBC had “spliced parts of the speech together with parts of a completely different speech,” which aired 54 minutes later.

He further stated that this editing made it seem like President Trump said things he never actually articulated. Such actions could fit the definition of making materially false and harmful statements.

The misleading edits drew considerable backlash, prompting Trump to take legal action against the BBC, seeking damages that could reach $5 million.

In response to the controversy, both Davie and BBC News chief Deborah Turness announced their resignations due to the scandal surrounding the speech.

The UK’s telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, has also asked the BBC to investigate the incident. Nevertheless, Carr maintained that he was conducting an independent inquiry to determine if the BBC had engaged in misleading practices.

Carr noted in his letter, “The BBC has several partnerships with US broadcasters, including PBS and NPR, to distribute its programming here. I’m therefore reaching out to confirm whether the BBC has supplied any video or audio related to the spliced speech to NPR, PBS, or any other FCC-regulated station in the US. If so, I kindly request transcripts and videos of those broadcasts.”

He emphasized the legal obligation of broadcast stations regulated by the FCC to serve the public interest, which includes prohibiting distorted news and misinformation. Carr pointed out that manipulating news “is the most heinous act against the public interest.”

In closing, Carr expressed his commitment to holding broadcasters accountable for fulfilling their obligations to the public interest and urged prompt responses to aid in that effort.