The BBC previously admitted the edits were misleading and apologised to Trump, though it denies being liable for defamation.
A US federal judge on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump ‘s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC to proceed, while denying Trump’s unfair trade practices claim against the broadcaster.
The judge said the editing could support an inference that the BBC had acted with actual malice, a legal standard that public figures must establish to win defamation cases. Trump welcomed the ruling on Truth Social, calling it a “huge victory”. “We will continue fighting against, and defeating, all of those who try to deceive the American People!” he said. He said Trump’s allegations that the BBC had departed from journalistic standards were sufficient to plausibly establish more than negligence. The BBC said it was surprised by the decision but respected the court’s authority. “We remain confident in our position and will continue to respond through the proper legal process,” the broadcaster said in a statement. However, according to the Guardian, the ruling does not establish that the BBC is liable for defamation.
“Editing is often required. However, given the time disparity between the two statements, the distance itself tends toward a plausible inference that BBC knew or should have known that the segment they were creating would not and could not have been a truthful statement. The judge also referred to previous errors in the BBC’s coverage of Trump, saying they could be relevant to assessing whether the broadcaster had acted recklessly. Trump will still have to prove at trial that the broadcaster acted with actual malice and that he suffered actual damages from the documentary’s broadcast. The judge also noted that the programme was not aired in Florida. Kuntz dismissed Trump’s claim that the BBC had violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.