Issues surrounding the BBC's editing of former US President Trump's speeches continue to escalate. According to the UK's Independent, on the 11th, Lisa Nandy, the UK Minister for Culture, Media and Sport, stated in the House of Commons that an unprecedented ten-year review of the BBC's charter will be launched to ensure that this public broadcasting organization "remains highly independent" and "truly accountable to the public."

The report stated that Nandy said the charter review of the BBC would start immediately, and she told MPs: "We will work together to ensure the BBC receives sustainable funding support, wins public trust, and continues to drive economic growth, create quality jobs, enhance skills, and stimulate creativity across the UK."

According to a独家 report disclosed by the UK's Daily Telegraph, the controversy stems from the BBC's Panorama program, which spliced two sentences from Trump's speech before the January 6th Capitol riot in 2021 in a documentary titled "Trump: A Second Chance?" After the incident was exposed, BBC CEO Tim Davie and Chief Executive of the News Division Deborah Turness announced their resignations.

On the 11th, Davie gave his first farewell speech to employees after resigning, with a very firm attitude. In his speech, he called the BBC "a unique and precious institution," and said, "I see freedom of the press under pressure, and I see speech being weaponized." At the same time, he admitted, "we did indeed make some costly mistakes," but attributed the problems to so-called "enemies" of the BBC, rather than internal oversight failures. The critics of the BBC were shocked by these remarks and called for thorough reforms at the BBC.

Greg Smith, a shadow minister in the UK Conservative Party, said, "It is not speech being weaponized to require an institution to take responsibility. The BBC needs to remember that regardless of whether the public watches BBC programs, they are forced to pay the TV license fee. Therefore, its mistakes must be subject to higher standards of scrutiny." Deputy leader of the Reform Party Richard Tice added, "Davie and Turness' statements lack genuine remorse and apology. Instead, they tried to find others to shift the blame. To save the BBC, comprehensive reform is necessary." Sam Wilson, a member of the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland, said that the BBC is "a news fabrication, abuse of monopoly status, hiding behind political protection for years, yet too timid to face challenges." Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also believed that Davie's attempt to accuse unknown "enemies" was to divert public attention.

Meanwhile, Trump, in an interview with American Fox News, said that due to the BBC's alteration of his speech, he "has an obligation" to sue. Trump's legal team had previously sent a letter to the BBC, demanding it to immediately remove the relevant content, publicly apologize, and pay at least $1 billion in damages, or else it would sue in Florida. Sky News previously reported that considering the close relationship between the UK and the US and their leaders, Trump's dissatisfaction would place significant pressure on the BBC from the British Prime Minister and the government.

From the general reaction of the British public, this incident has also sparked long-standing dissatisfaction with the BBC. According to the BBC review report published on the UK government website in January 2024, "lack of fairness in reporting" and "opaque handling of complaints" are the two most common issues complained about by the public. Many people said that it has become commonplace for the BBC to take things out of context for political purposes, and this "blunder" happened because it "provoked the wrong person."

Source: Global Times

Author: Wang Ce Liang Youzhi

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7572002404065919542/

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