BBC Scandal Unfolds: Executives Resign Amid Deceptive Trump Edit and USAID-Funded Censorship Network Targeting Americans

Posted on: 

Thursday, November 13th 2025 at 2:45 pm

Written By: 

Sayer Ji, Founder

Originally published on www.sayerji.substack.com

Trump threatens $1 billion lawsuit as broadcaster admits "error in judgment" while continuing to perpetuate debunked "Disinformation Dozen" claims against American citizens

Read, share, and comment on the X thread dedicated to this post: https://x.com/sayerjigmi/status/1987928877839142932?s=20

On November 10, 2025, the BBC found itself at the center of an international scandal when President Trump threatened to sue the broadcaster for $1 billion over what his lawyer called "malicious, disparaging" edits to a speech Trump delivered on January 6, 2021. The documentary, titled "Trump: A Second Chance?" and broadcast before the 2024 presidential election, manipulated Trump's speech to create what the BBC itself later admitted gave "the impression of a direct call for violent action."

The deceptive editing was stark. The BBC version rearranged Trump's words to say: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol and I'll be there with you and we fight. We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore." This selective editing removed critical context where Trump explicitly called for peaceful protest, stating supporters would "peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."

The fallout was swift. Tim Davie, head of the BBC, and Deborah Turness, head of news, resigned on Sunday, November 9, 2025, after growing pressure over the manipulated documentary. Samir Shah, the BBC's chair, issued a formal apology: "With hindsight, it would have been better to take more formal action. We accept that the way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action. The BBC would like to apologize for that error of judgment."

Alejandro Brito, one of Trump's lawyers, sent a letter to the BBC demanding "a full retraction of the documentary, an apology and what his lawyers said would be payments that 'appropriately compensate President Trump for the harm caused.'" The letter warned that failure to meet these demands would result in "legal action for no less than $1,000,000,000 (One Billion Dollars) in damages." It concluded ominously: "The BBC is on notice" and "PLEASE GOVERN YOURSELF ACCORDINGLY."

BBC's Pattern of Manipulation: From Trump to the "Disinformation Dozen"

This scandal is not an isolated incident. The BBC's deceptive editing of Trump's January 6 speech represents a broader pattern of manipulation and censorship that has been exposed through investigations into the broadcaster's financial ties and coordinated campaigns against independent voices. Critically, despite issuing corrections for their Trump documentary, the BBC has yet to correct or retract its participation in the discredited "Disinformation Dozen" campaign that targeted American citizens advocating for health freedom and informed medical consent.

The USAID Connection: Laundering Censorship Through "Development" Funds

In early 2025, a startling shake-up at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) drew attention to a global censorship network reaching into American discourse. As investigative journalist Mike Benz revealed on Newsmax, the Trump administration abruptly put most USAID staff on leave amid allegations that taxpayer funds were being "laundered" through media organizations to control narratives. On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST), all USAID direct hire personnel were placed on administrative leave globally, except for a select group managing mission-critical functions.

At the center of this storm was the BBC. The broadcaster, via its development arm BBC Media Action, has received substantial USAID funding over multiple years. According to BBC Media Action's own press release from February 4, 2025, USAID contributed approximately £0.9 million ($1.1 million) to BBC Media Action in the 2017-2018 financial year alone, as part of a broader financial relationship spanning several years. BBC Media Action's 2023-2024 funding chart prominently lists USAID as contributing £2,613k (approximately $3.3 million), making it one of the organization's top donors.

The arrangement effectively "laundered" U.S. taxpayer money into foreign censorship efforts. Instead of merely producing public-interest media, BBC Media Action has been accused of aligning with a broader campaign to silence independent voices under the guise of combating "misinformation." As I noted in my previous report, "The way USAID has funneled taxpayer funds into BBC Media Action and the Trusted News Initiative, effectively laundering transatlantic influence operations to suppress U.S. citizens' constitutional rights, demonstrates a clear violation of democratic principles."

USAID & BBC Caught Laundering Censorship--Unconstitutional & Unforgivable!

Sayer Ji · Feb 5

On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST), all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, except for a select group managing mission-critical functions, core leadership, and specially designated programs. This abrupt operational halt, announced just one day earlier, signals a dramatic shift in the agency's trajecto…

Read full story

The Trusted News Initiative: BBC's Censorship Consortium

The BBC is often regarded as an extension of the UK government, functioning as a tool for soft power projection across the world. Its influence has expanded through initiatives like the Trusted News Initiative (TNI), which actively seeks to regulate online discourse under the banner of combating misinformation. Founded by the BBC in 2019, TNI is a partnership between major media outlets, technology companies, and global organizations, ostensibly aimed at combating disinformation.

However, critics argue that TNI effectively creates an information cartel that determines what narratives are deemed legitimate. The BBC, as the initiator of TNI, has worked alongside major platforms like Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Twitter/X to suppress viewpoints that contradict mainstream pharmaceutical and government stances on public health. Through partnerships with these tech giants, TNI's efforts restrict independent voices while reinforcing the dominance of mainstream pharmaceutical, governmental, and corporate interests.

BBC and ISD: The "Disinformation" Hit List

GreenMedInfo was listed as among those "known disinformation" websites in the ISD/BBC report. The classification had serious consequences: GMI (and I) came under increasing attack, facing deplatforming, search engine suppression, and financial restrictions. During the 2021-2023 period of coordinated attacks (the "disinformation dozen" campaign), over 2 million of my followers were removed across social media ecosystem, and I was barred from using PayPal/Venmo both personally and professionally, cutting off critical revenue streams. Most concerning were black operations involving NATO stratcom, at least one threat of a lawfare campaign, not to mention the suppression of millions of followers who were prevented from receiving the messages and content they voluntarily elected to receive, a clear violation of our constitutional rights on both sides.

This joint investigation by ISD and BBC Click heavily scrutinized independent health sites by grouping them with far-right extremism and conspiracy theories. The methodology involved monitoring public Facebook pages and groups without obtaining consent, collecting engagement metrics, and using keyword-based parsing to label discussions as misinformation. This broad-stroke approach falsely conflated legitimate health discourse and heterodox medical views with radical ideologies, providing convenient pretext for censorship.

What is particularly alarming is the degree to which BBC Media Action's funding from USAID appears to serve as a laundering mechanism for these suppression efforts. By framing alternative health platforms as threats to public health, the BBC (and by extension, USAID) justified their removal from social media, search engines, and financial platforms.

A key nexus between British state media and CCDH's funding architecture is the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, one of 17 dark money funding sources behind CCDH, whose trustees include Tony Hall, Baron Hall of Birkenhead (former Director-General of the BBC) and Sir Anthony Salz (former BBC Governor) are trustees of the foundation. This foundation's direct grant to CCDH in 2021 reveals how ostensibly philanthropic institutions serve as conduits for media-aligned influence operations.

The "Disinformation Dozen": A Coordinated Attack on American Citizens

The targeting of GreenMedInfo by entities with ties to USAID, BBC, and the Trusted News Initiative highlights a larger battle over who controls information. The weaponization of media and funding to silence dissenting voices in the health sphere is a direct threat to democratic discourse and individual rights.

In March 2021, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a UK-based organization, published a report claiming that 12 individuals were responsible for "65% of anti-vaccine misinformation" online. This became known as the "Disinformation Dozen" campaign. I was named as one of these twelve individuals, along with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Dr. Joseph Mercola, and others.

At that very time, Tim Davie was serving as Director-General of the BBC -- having assumed the position in September 2020 -- and therefore presided over the corporation's deepening entanglement with censorship partnerships. Under his leadership, the BBC not only expanded the Trusted News Initiative but also lent implicit and explicit support to CCDH's "Disinformation Dozen" campaign through its coverage and institutional collaborations. Davie's tenure thus coincided with the BBC's active role in legitimizing and disseminating the CCDH narrative that was used to justify the targeting and deplatforming of lawful American speech

The BBC and other major media outlets amplified this campaign extensively, treating the claims as fact despite serious methodological flaws. However, in August 2021, Meta (Facebook) thoroughly debunked the CCDH's central claim, revealing that the individuals named in the report were actually responsible for only about 0.05% of all views of vaccine-related content on Facebook--not the 65% claimed by the CCDH

Major Media Outlets Correct "Disinformation Dozen" Coverage--But Not the BBC

In a significant turn of events in 2024, major media outlets began correcting their previous reporting on the "Disinformation Dozen." Three prominent organizations took steps to address their earlier coverage:

• The Independent added an update to their May 17, 2021 article "Study names 12 most dangerous anti-vaxxers in America," broadly stating Meta's objections to the CCDH study and providing a link for readers to view Meta's full statement.
• Forbes added an update to their December 10, 2021 article "De-Platform The Disinformation Dozen," referencing Meta's statement and the report's response.
• McGill University added a pinned comment to their March 10, 2022 YouTube video "A Dose of Science," mentioning that Meta disputes the validity of the CCDH report.

However, conspicuously absent from this list of corrections is the BBC. Despite issuing an apology and retracting their deceptively edited Trump documentary, the BBC has yet to correct or retract any of its extensive coverage promoting the discredited "Disinformation Dozen" narrative. This glaring double standard raises serious questions about the broadcaster's commitment to accuracy and accountability.

Media Outlets Still Required to Correct Their "Disinformation Dozen" Coverage

The "Disinformation Dozen" campaign had an unprecedented reach across various media platforms. At its peak, a search for "Disinformation Dozen" yielded approximately 500,000 results on Bing and 84,000 results on Google, underscoring the campaign's extensive influence and the potential for widespread reputational damage to the individuals named.

In a coordinated effort, the individuals named in the "Disinformation Dozen" report and their supporters have reached out to several dozen media outlets requesting corrections. The following outlets have yet to respond or issue corrections for their uncritical amplification of the discredited CCDH claims:

• BBC (all divisions)
• Huffington Post
• Newsweek
• Mashable
• Self Magazine
• NPR
• Times of Israel
• The Guardian
• Business Insider
• American Medical Association (AMA)
• ProPublica
• Booz Allen Hamilton
• CNBC
• NBC
• ABC
• ScienceAlert
• Daily Mail UK

Critically, these media corrections come long overdue and may indicate growing awareness among media outlets of their potential culpability and liability in wrongfully attacking the civil liberties of US citizens.

Legal Implications and the Biden v. Missouri Case

The timing of these corrections coincides with pivotal breakthroughs in the ongoing legal and constitutional reckoning over state-induced censorship. Most notably, the federal case Finn et al. v. Global Engagement Center--in which I am a co-plaintiff--continues to move forward, exposing how U.S. government officials coordinated with foreign NGOs and private platforms to suppress lawful speech under the pretext of "countering disinformation." The case seeks full disclosure of communications between federal agencies, NGOs like the CCDH, and Big Tech companies that acted as enforcement arms of government policy.

This litigation gained extraordinary evidentiary support in October 2025, when YouTube quietly reinstated my GreenMedInfo and Sayer Ji channels--after more than four years of wrongful deplatforming--and formally admitted there was no policy violation. Alphabet's letter to Congress further confirmed that White House officials had exerted sustained, unlawful pressure on the company to censor content that did not violate platform rules, a direct acknowledgment of unconstitutional state action.

These admissions not only vindicate my work but also establish a tangible record of injury and causation--key elements demonstrating that individuals labeled as "misinformation spreaders" were, in fact, victims of coordinated government-NGO suppression campaigns. The reinstatement of my accounts, alongside Alphabet's congressional testimony, now serves as newly discovered evidence in Finn et al. v. Global Engagement Center, underscoring that lawful American speech was systematically targeted and silenced for political purposes.

If the court rules in favor of the plaintiffs, it would confirm what has long been clear to those watching closely: that a transnational censorship apparatus--spanning government agencies, foreign influence networks, and major media corporations--acted in concert to erase dissent. The recent vindications mark the beginning of accountability for those who engineered and amplified the "Disinformation Dozen" psyop, and a turning point for restoring constitutional boundaries in the digital age.

CCDH and Its CEO Continue Spreading Debunked Claims

Despite these positive developments, significant challenges remain. The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and its CEO, Imran Ahmed, continue to perpetuate claims that have been thoroughly discredited, raising serious concerns about ongoing reputational harm to the individuals named in their report.

A glaring example is a recent article in Men's Health magazine titled "How to Keep Your Mind When You Fight Digital Hate All Day," which profiles Imran Ahmed. The article uncritically repeats the debunked claim that the "Disinformation Dozen" were responsible for 65 percent of online vaccine misinformation. This demonstrates a concerning lack of due diligence on the part of both the CCDH and media outlets that continue to amplify these discredited claims.

Given the extensive damage already done to the reputations and livelihoods of the individuals named in the "Disinformation Dozen" report, there are growing calls for the CCDH to issue a comprehensive correction and retraction. The organization's reluctance to acknowledge the inaccuracies in its report, even in the face of contradictory evidence from platform owners like Meta, raises questions about its credibility and motives.

A Call for Transparency and Resistance

If USAID, BBC Media Action, and ISD are working in concert to delegitimize independent health platforms, then a serious ethical and legal discussion must take place. The public deserves transparency regarding how taxpayer dollars are being used to suppress free speech and dictate acceptable medical discourse.

For those concerned about medical freedom, this situation underscores the importance of:

1. Decentralized Information Networks - Using blockchain-based or independent publishing platforms to evade Big Tech censorship.
2. Legal Challenges - Pressuring policymakers and legal institutions to investigate government-funded suppression campaigns.
3. Public Awareness Campaigns - Educating the public on how narratives are shaped by interconnected global institutions with vested interests.
4. Media Accountability - Demanding corrections and retractions from media outlets that uncritically amplified discredited claims, particularly the BBC, which has corrected its Trump coverage but not its "Disinformation Dozen" reporting.

Conclusion: A Pattern of Deception and Censorship

The BBC's November 2025 scandal over deceptively editing President Trump's January 6 speech is not an isolated incident of journalistic malpractice. Rather, it represents the latest revelation in a documented pattern of manipulation, censorship, and coordination with government agencies and NGOs to control public narratives and silence dissenting voices.

The evidence is clear and damning:

• The BBC received substantial USAID funding (millions of dollars over multiple years) through BBC Media Action, effectively using American taxpayer money to conduct transatlantic censorship operations.
• The BBC partnered with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue to create blacklists of American websites and citizens, falsely conflating health freedom advocates with far-right extremists.
• The BBC founded and led the Trusted News Initiative, creating an information cartel with Big Tech platforms to suppress independent voices and control pandemic narratives.
• The BBC extensively amplified the discredited "Disinformation Dozen" campaign, treating debunked claims as fact even after Meta revealed the truth.
• The BBC has corrected its deceptive Trump documentary but has failed to correct or retract its "Disinformation Dozen" coverage, demonstrating a troubling double standard.

The targeting of GreenMedInfo and other independent health platforms by entities with ties to USAID, BBC, and the Trusted News Initiative highlights a larger battle over who controls information. The weaponization of media and funding to silence dissenting voices in the health sphere is a direct threat to democratic discourse and individual rights. This is not some abstract concern, as only days ago the Associated Press indicated they had my personal address and were considering doxxing me and my family. As these suppression and intimidate efforts escalate, it is imperative for the public to recognize, resist, and call for accountability from these powerful institutions.

The recent defunding attempts of USAID by the Trump administration are timely and, in light of these revelations, justified. The way USAID has funneled taxpayer funds into BBC Media Action and the Trusted News Initiative, effectively laundering transatlantic influence operations to suppress U.S. citizens' constitutional rights, demonstrates a clear violation of democratic principles. This misuse of public resources underscores the need for transparency, oversight, and accountability to prevent government-funded entities from engaging in censorship and information control under the guise of public welfare.

The corrections made by The Independent, Forbes, and McGill University represent important steps toward accountability. However, they are long overdue, and the conspicuous absence of the BBC from this list of corrections is particularly egregious given the broadcaster's central role in promoting these discredited narratives.

As President Trump's $1 billion lawsuit against the BBC proceeds, it may serve as a crucial test case for holding media organizations accountable for deliberate manipulation and deception. The world will be watching to see whether the BBC faces consequences not only for its deceptive editing of political speech, but also for its years-long campaign to silence and defame American citizens exercising their constitutional rights to free speech and informed medical consent.

Call to Action

To support this campaign for accuracy and accountability in media reporting, please share this article widely. Additionally, consider contacting the BBC and other media outlets that have failed to correct their "Disinformation Dozen" coverage to demand retractions and apologies.

Perhaps most importantly, support our lawsuit here. Without coordinated grassroots action, nothing will change. You are the ones who will save yourselves - if only we act with together, with unbending principle, courage, and compassion.

The public deserves transparency regarding how taxpayer dollars are being used to suppress free speech and dictate acceptable discourse. As investigations continue, the BBC and its allies face a reckoning. The hope among the silenced is that sunlight on these covert operations will ensure such an alliance of censors can never operate with impunity again.

On Trial for TRUTH: Replay of Live Conversation with the Trusted Twelve

Sayer Ji · Sep 21

They called them the "Disinformation Dozen" and tried to erase them from the internet.

Read full story

References

1. The New York Times. "Trump Threatens to Sue the BBC for $1 Billion After Jan. 6 Documentary." November 10, 2025.

2. GreenMedInfo. "Major Victory: Media Giants Admit Errors in 'Disinformation Dozen' Coverage." October 28, 2024.

3. Sayer Ji, Substack. "USAID & BBC Caught Laundering Censorship--Unconstitutional & Unforgivable!" February 5, 2025.

4. BBC Media Action. "Our Funding." Press release, February 4, 2025.

5. Meta (Facebook). "How We're Taking Action Against Vaccine Misinformation Superspreaders." August 18, 2021.

6. Institute for Strategic Dialogue & BBC. "Far-Right Exploitation of Covid-19: ISD and BBC Click Investigation." May 12, 2020.

7. Children's Health Defense et al. v. BBC et al. (TNI Antitrust Complaint, 2023).

8. House Judiciary Committee. "The Censorship-Industrial Complex" Hearing. February 12, 2025.

Note: This investigation draws on publicly available documents, court filings, government reports, and media corrections issued by The Independent, Forbes, and McGill University. The BBC has been contacted for comment regarding its failure to correct "Disinformation Dozen" coverage despite correcting its Trump documentary.