BBC forced to issue apology over another Donald Trump broadcasting error | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV
The BBC has issued an apology over its BBC News at Six report, which was published on the corporation’s Corrections and Clarifications page this week. The correction was published on Wednesday, November 26, and it’s in reference to a report about billionaire Elon Musk‘s claims that without him, US President Donald Trump “would have lost the election”.
The BBC‘s reporting issue occurred on June 6, with the corporation now releasing a statement to offer clarity which read: “During the introduction to a report about Elon Musk‘s claims that without him, Donald Trump would have lost the election, we inaccurately described how Mr Musk had run lotteries in swing states including Pennsylvania, offering people 1 million dollars “to vote Republican”.
“To be clear, in order to potentially win this money, there was no requirement for individuals to vote Republican, but rather they needed to be registered voters who had signed a pro-US Constitution petition by Mr Musk’s campaign group America PAC, which he set up to support the Republican nominee Donald Trump.”
The correction comes weeks after the BBC had to issue an apology for a Panorama episode which appeared to splice a Trump speech from January 6, 2021, together, making it look as though the US leader was inciting violence in Washington, DC.
The BBC said it had “the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action” and confirmed the episode would not be shown again.
Trump threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion in damages, but the corporation rejected his demands for compensation.
However, the BBC’s Director General, Tim Davie, and the BBC’s Head of News, Deborah Turness, resigned on Sunday, 9 November, after the Panorama scandal made headlines.
Addressing the Panorama edit, Davie told the BBC: “I think we did make a mistake, and there was an editorial breach, and I think some responsibility had to be taken.”
The BBC shared a job application for his position earlier this week, and it is understood Davie will remain in the role until his successor is recruited.
