At times like these, when the world is in uproar and we are assailed by opinion on all sides, you can generally rely on George Orwell to provide a telling and instructive commentary.
“Freedom is the freedom to say that two and two equals four”, contends the protagonist in 1984, Orwell’s treatise on how to protect free speech in the face of totalitarian opposition. What he meant was that, in a civilised society, we should be free to speak truth to power.
This is a particularly apposite reflection on what happened in the production process of the BBC’s fateful Panorama programme about Donald Trump’s part in the storming of the Capitol building in 2021. Two and two did indeed make four. The bits of film that were spliced together from separate speeches by Trump added up to the incontestable truth that his rhetoric encouraged the attack. It may have been questionable journalistic practice, but Orwell’s definition of freedom was never better served.
Meanwhile, Trump is interested only in the freedom to make money. Which is why he said last night on Fox News that he has “an obligation” to sue the BBC, claiming reparations of $1bn (£760m) for the reputational damage he has suffered from the charge of incitement made on Panorama. “They defrauded the public,” added a US President who, according to The Washington Post’s fact-checking department, made a total of 30,573 false or misleading claims during his first presidential term. You couldn’t make it up.
We are truly living through an Orwellian nightmare in which independent media, whose only purpose is to monitor and challenge the centres of power, are constantly under attack. When asked last night about suing the BBC, Trump responded, in characteristically casual tones: “Why not?”.
We will answer that particular question later, but in the meantime, I am struck by the pusillanimous way in which our Government (and, to a lesser extent, the BBC itself) has dealt with Trump’s threats. Why do we stand by and watch one of our most cherished institutions be traduced and enfeebled by a foreign power? Why doesn’t someone, the Prime Minister, for example, just tell him – in the sort of undiplomatic language he might understand – to get stuffed? And as far as legal action is concerned, bring it on.
It is time we faced down this bully, rather than appease his right-wing cheerleaders who seek, for financial or political reasons, to dismantle a globally respected and admired part of our culture.
And in answer to Trump’s throwaway “Why not [sue]?” here’s the answer. First of all, he’s not going to win. The American Constitution protects press freedom, and he won’t be able to prove that the BBC acted “with reckless disregard” of whether their assertions were true or false. Even he might think twice about putting his part in the Capitol attack under close scrutiny. He’s asked for a grovelling apology from the BBC Chairman. I just wish Samir Shah would say: “See you in court, Mr President.”
Secondly, while Trump may not think twice about suing the Wall Street Journal or CNN, the BBC is a very different beast. In taking on the BBC, he is taking on all of us. Or at least that’s what he should be told.
He’s up against David Attenborough, Jonathan Dimbleby and Claudia Winkelman. He’s ranged against the Proms and the World Service and the Reith Lectures. He’s gunning for The Today Programme, University Challenge, Strictly Come Dancing and Children in Need. And, yes, it’s also where Jimmy Savile and Huw Edwards were indulged. But that’s because, like all our major institutions, the BBC is imperfect. Like all of us, in fact.
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This situation is not just about a few seconds of shoddy journalism, among the thousands of hours of news and current affairs output for which the Beeb is responsible. That’s the excuse which the corporation’s ideological and commercial opponents are using for their ad hominem assault on the BBC’s credibility and, indeed, its very existence.
Make no mistake. This is a bloody battle for the future of the BBC and for which we should all be prepared to mobilise. So come on, Keir Starmer. Forget about your internecine troubles. Be a leader. Defend the BBC. Defend us. Tell Trump to take a hike.
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