Actual malice, the BBC wanted Trump destroyed — Afshin Rattansi

Journalist and Going Underground host Afshin Rattansi breaks down the BBC’s forced apology after it stitched together pieces of Trump’s speeches to distort his message — a move he calls routine propaganda.

Rattansi worked at the BBC for years and says what they did to Trump is normal for them. Most truthful network news segment I’ve ever seen.

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TRANSCRIPT

RT Host: Crossing live now to Afshin Ratansi, journalist and the host of Going Underground. Afshin, a very warm welcome to you. What a great story this is, you know?

Afshin Rattansi: What a story it is, because now it emerges that the BBC actually had another programme, Newsnight, the programme I’ve appeared on actually, and that made the same defamation. And this apology is saying, “Oh, there was no defamation, no material consequences for Trump.”

Of course there were! Donald Trump was in deep trouble. He was being threatened with prison, ahead of his re-election in Washington. So, I mean, what on Earth does the BBC think it’s saying?

RT Host: Well, at least they’ve apologized, Afshin. At least the BBC has come out and said, “Oh well, we’re sorry.” But Afshin, I wanted to, if I may, you and me both know Peter Hitchens, a conservative author, journalist, always out there in the media. Peter Hitchens, he said, quote, “I’m not a supporter of Donald Trump, but what the BBC did was something which is illegitimate for any journalist.”

He said, “They put two pieces of a speech together which were made in different circumstances at different times.” Quote, “It’s unprofessional. No organisation which supposedly prides itself on its allegedly brilliant journalism should countenance it or make excuses for it.” Afshin, your comment?

Afshin Rattansi: It’s routine for the BBC. I worked there for a large proportion of my journalism life. It is routine!

And following on from the lead story this hour, you’ve got to remember that Britain sees the war on Russia through Ukraine as a means of survival, now. It is desperate to continue this war.

And there was a perception that Trump would seek peace and that he would end that war. So, prior to the BBC story, of course, there was infamously Christopher Steele, brought from MI6 to destroy Trump’s reputation. Then, you have the BBC repeatedly acting in this way.

You know, there’s a video that’s gone quite viral, today of Jeremy Bowen, the laughable, absurd excuse for journalism, former Middle East Editor, in Ukraine crouching down saying “The Russians are going to kill me,” appearing to, while an old lady with a dog, the Ukrainian, walks by saying, “Are you all right, mate?”

I mean, this is not a normal organisation. And it, as I said last time, you know, when there was the resignations of the Director-General of the Head of News, Britons go to jail if they don’t pay-up for the salaries of these absurd conduits of Sir Keir Starmer’s policy against journalism.

I didn’t mention last time, though, that though it is double the cost of Netflix, a big streaming operator in NATO countries, you get half off if you’re blind and you pay $7.50 a month if it’s a black and white TV set. I don’t know how many people in Russia have black and white TV sets still, but you have to pay that, to pay the salary of these people posing as journalists but, in fact dedicated to destroying Donald Trump.

RT Host: Yeah, I mean, you know, we’ve seen it for, you know, going back to 2016 and beyond. Meantime, the BBC has apologized for stitching-up these Trump speeches and trying to portray a different image.

Trump, as you well know, Afshin, threatening the BBC with a billion dollar lawsuit. I mean, just from a legal perspective, is it feasible? Would he even potentially be successful with a claim as such?

Afshin Rattansi: Was there actual malice? Of course, there was actual malice on the part of the BBC. They didn’t want Trump elected!

Reckless disregard for the truth. We just showed the edit, which was compounded now by the fact that it was previously run on a programme called Newsnight. I appeared on it because they were asking about all those numerous Russia hoax reports during the first Trump Presidency where they tried to make out Trump was an “Agent of the Kremlin”.

And now, not only does that suppose and surely, point to the idea that if Trump really means what he says, and in previous suits he has settled for huge sums from American broadcasters, and he needs to do this of course.

But now ABC Australia is also caught doing the same thing! Because all these different NATO allies, Australia of course part of AUKUS, the military alliance, their elites are commanded to say, “Look, Trump is dangerous, he might end the war with Russia through Ukraine.” So all of them were in on this plot to destabilise American democracy.

And I should also say that 100 MPs from the party went over to campaign for Kamala Harris in this election! This is a deliberate election interference, even though the BBC in this letter says, “Hey, don’t take a billion dollars off us, this programme wasn’t shown in America.”

RT Host: Yeah, well said, Afshin. I mean, look, as you say, you go back to 2016, you go back to Trump’s first term, you know, the legacy media was attacking him left, right and centre, and they never really stopped, all the way up till today. The CNNs of the world, the BBCs of the world, and here, we have proof, just one little bit of proof for, you know, the BBC, as opposed to the other guys, the BBC was stitching-up these speeches of Trump trying to portray a different perspective and really manipulating his words. Do you think the legacy media today has taken a hit? Do you think people are still buying what they’re selling?

Afshin Rattansi: Oh, actually, I had the statistics on that. The British Censorship Agency says most people in Britain don’t see the BBC as impartial and fair, I think it is. And other surveys, a YouGov poll from 2023 said most British people don’t regard the BBC as trustworthy.

But if you were to watch British television today, they would say the “BBC is considered trustworthy”. And they would refer to a Reuters Institute Poll, because Reuters is connected to MI6. The BBC runs an arm educating people around the world about how to “do journalism”, now linked to the coup in Nepal. And that BBC media action organisation is funded by USAID, something that’s also going to send alarm bells in the United States.

But most importantly of all, it is the BBC, a genocidal organisation, which ironically, is being attacked for being “pro-Palestinian”, amidst all of these attacks, which are really underneath it all about the Ukraine proxy war, which of course, ironically, Trump has surrendered to the neoconservatives in Washington about, in any case.

RT Host: Yeah, very, very well said, Afshin. I just can’t, you know, I’d love to argue with you here, Afshin, I can’t, you’re not giving me anything to disagree with.

But listen, thank you, mate. You know what, I’ll tell you what, it takes courage to come on network TV and saying what you’re saying. I love what you’re saying, Afshin.

Did you think with the BBC, is it too little too late? Do you think the BBC can save its legacy? Can it try and heal itself and move forward? Or do you think it’s just a case of well, “Out with the old and in with the new,” perhaps?

Afshin Rattansi: Well, there’s a selection procedure on right now. The previous Director General who resigned, Tim Davie, before becoming Director General, was a person that marketed sugary drinks to Arabs in the Middle East and in the Arab World. That was his qualification.

Now, there are rumours that the former Chancellor, Finance Minister of Britain, who was involved in financing the war on Libya, may become the Director General.

People do not trust it. The younger generation don’t want it. The right in Britain don’t like it because it is elite neoconservatism and neoliberalism. And the left don’t like it. The left, meaning not the fake left.

So clearly, the days are numbered. But I think it’s very important that Trump says, “If we’re going to have the NATO umbrella, we can’t have organisations like this going on the way they are.”

So, Keir Starmer, of course, will fight tooth-and-nail to keep it as a propaganda service to ensure the power of these neoconservative elites that get Britain into war after war after war while they immiserate their people at home.

RT Host: It’s a very strong comment to wrap up our conversation with Afshin Rattansi, journalist and host of Going Underground. Love your show, Afshin. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Afshin Rattansi: Thank you.