Reporting By Mathew Carr

—-BBC World Service’s investigative unit struggles to focus on developing world in era of Trump lawfare; I’m not saying it’s alone: CarrZee

The BBC’s World Service investigation unit, part of one of the most trusted news companies on earth, does not cover the US “that much.”

So says Liz Gibbons, the service’s executive editor of long form and investigations.

I asked her if the Trump lawfare over alleged defamation of him by the BBC in its coverage of the Capitol riots in January 2021 had changed what she did and I asked whether she has spoken to her teams about it.

“So in my area, we don’t cover the US that much. The main content that we create is for and about the developing world. So we, I, my teams don’t cover America that much.

“What have I said to my teams about it? We need to carry on. I mean, make sure that we don’t make errors. We brought in additional editorial checks, which is all in the public domain since the Gaza documentary issue ….last year ….with that giving us an additional level of reassurance when we’re doing difficult investigative journalism that we’ve thought about everything …but it (the Trump lawfare) is not changing our day-to-day approach.”

Gibbons, who runs only a part of the service, pushed back on my assertions that it was too biased toward the US and had too much analysis by people with American accents.

“Well, I can assure you, we’re acting in a duly impartial way,” she said.

Gibbons has not “specifically” analysed US content vs non-US content.

She said: “I would really, I would really challenge that. I mean, I don’t know what it is you’re listening to, obviously, News Hour, which is the main … well, I can assure you, we haven’t changed it. I mean, I don’t run those teams, but I’ve worked very closely with them. And then I can assure you, there’s been no edict to change our editorial remit whatsoever. (We) Carry on. We stay the course. Okay, we’re truly impartial, (the) most trusted organization in the world.”

CarrZee: “Yes, you are ….and that’s why you’re a target, I suspect that’s why you’re a target, because he (Trump) likes that trust. He wants that trust.”

Gibbons: “I can’t speak for Donald Trump.”

[note: CarrZee listens to the service morning, day and night …and other stations, too]

ChatGPT check:

Donald Trump has filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC in Florida.  The case has not been dismissed; a U.S. judge has allowed it to proceed. Trial is currently scheduled for 2027 in Miami. 

What the case is about

The lawsuit concerns a BBC Panorama documentary (“Trump: A Second Chance?”) that used edited footage of Trump’s speech before the January 6 United States Capitol attack.

The programme spliced together two lines from Trump’s speech spoken about 50 minutes apart, making them sound like a single statement encouraging supporters to march to the Capitol and “fight like hell.”  Trump says this edit falsely implied he incited the riot, damaging his reputation. 

What the BBC has admitted

The BBC chair acknowledged the edit was an “error of judgement” that could give the impression of a direct call to violence.  But the BBC denies defamation and says it will fight the case. 

Why people call it a “SLAPP”

Media groups and press-freedom advocates describe it as a “mega-SLAPP” (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation):

The claim is extremely large ($10 bn). Critics say the aim is pressure or deterrence against critical journalism, regardless of the final legal outcome. 

Political fallout in the UK

The controversy around the edit was already huge before the lawsuit:

It triggered resignations of senior BBC leaders, including the Director-General and head of news.  It fed into wider debates about BBC bias and the future of the licence fee.

✅ Bottom line: the case is alive, discovery and pre-trial motions are ongoing, and the first full trial isn’t expected until 2027.

———-

Liz Gibbons is a senior editorial leader within the BBC World Service.

Role

She has served as Head of News / Senior News Editor at the BBC World Service, responsible for:

Editorial oversight of international news coverage Coordinating reporting across multiple language services Managing journalists and editors covering global stories

Position in the hierarchy

Her role sits below the corporate leadership but high within the World Service newsroom structure:

Tim Davie – runs the entire BBC Deborah Turness – leads BBC News globally Senior editors like Liz Gibbons – oversee day-to-day international news operations within the BBC World Service

What that means in practice

People in her position typically:

Decide which global stories get priority coverage Supervise editorial teams and correspondents Ensure output meets BBC editorial standards

✅ Bottom line: Liz Gibbons is a senior editorial manager within the BBC World Service newsroom, but she does not “run” the service overall — that authority sits with BBC News leadership and ultimately the BBC Director-General.