BBC Bosses Resign After ‘Doctored’ Trump Footage Made It Look Like He Called for Jan. 6 Violence

Two top bosses at the BBC, including Tim Davie, its director-general and editor-in-chief, have resigned after a bombshell report found it “doctored” video of a speech President Donald Trump gave to make it appear like he was calling on his supporters to “fight” and be violent during the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot.

BBC News CEO Deborah Turness joined Davie in quitting; she resigned on Saturday, and Davie quit on Sunday. Their resignations come less than a week after The Telegraph reported editors for Panorama, the BBC’s longest-running investigative series, duped viewers during an October 2024 special by altering the sequence of a speech Trump gave in 2021.

“I wanted to let you know that I have decided to leave the BBC after 20 years. This is entirely my decision, and I remain very thankful to the Chair and Board for their unswerving and unanimous support throughout my entire tenure, including during recent days,” Davie said in a statement.

He added “there have been some mistakes made and as Director-General I have to take ultimate responsibility.” He did not specifically reference the doctored Trump footage or any other errors in particular.

Turness did reference The Telegraph report in her own statement, saying “the ongoing controversy around the Panorama on President Trump has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC — an institution that I love.”

She added “the buck stops with me,” and said the report does not prove the BBC is “institutionally biased.”

Their resignations comes after Panorama was exposed for misleadingly editing Trump’s speech to supporters in early 2021.

“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell,” Trump is heard saying on the program.

In reality, he said: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”

Trump, a moment later, added he wanted his supporters to “peacefully and patriotically” make their voices heard — something that was left out of the 2024 special, titled Trump: A Second Chance?

An internal UK government report, which The Telegraph’s story is based on, found the show “completely misled” viewers with its editing.

“Examining the charge that Trump had incited protesters to storm Capitol Hill, it turned out that Panorama had spliced together two clips from separate parts of his speech. This created the impression that Trump said something he did not and, in doing so, materially misled viewers,” wrote Michael Prescott, a media advisor who led the report on BBC bias.

In reality, he said: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”

Trump, a moment later, added he wanted his supporters to “peacefully and patriotically” make their voices heard — something that was left out of the 2024 special, titled Trump: A Second Chance?

An internal UK government report, which The Telegraph’s story is based on, found the show “completely misled” viewers with its editing.

“Examining the charge that Trump had incited protesters to storm Capitol Hill, it turned out that Panorama had spliced together two clips from separate parts of his speech. This created the impression that Trump said something he did not and, in doing so, materially misled viewers,” wrote Michael Prescott, a media advisor who led the report on BBC bias.