Swedish television channel SVT, like the BBC, edited Donald Trump's speech from January 6, 2021, to create the impression that he was calling for riots, reports the publication Kvartal.
As the newspaper notes, in 2024 SVT used an excerpt from the speech of the current US president in one of its reports, combining several different parts. This was done in such a way that it was clear to viewers that Trump advocated storming the Capitol. As in the BBC version, however, the segment in which he calls on his supporters to "peacefully and patriotically express their opinions" is omitted.
In its initial response to Kvartal's inquiry about how the speech was edited, SVT stated that the channel's owners "trust SVT's reporting on the storming of the Capitol". However, SVT later changed the text and the clip itself, adding black frames with pauses between the different parts of the speech. Karin Ekman, the responsible TV presenter, notes that SVT updated the text of the clip "to make it clearer to the audience in what context it was published". She does not believe that the BBC scandal will affect SVT's credibility.
Norwegian broadcaster NRK has also changed its story about the storming of the Capitol, which was previously presented in a similar way, SVT explains.
The BBC has been at the centre of a scandal over its Panorama programme, which the broadcaster aired in October 2024. In it, Trump's speech was edited to suggest that he was calling for the capture of the Capitol building, when in fact the defeated head of state was talking about the need to express civil positions through peaceful means.
As a result of the scandal, BBC CEO Tim Davey and news chief Deborah Turnes resigned. The US leader's lawyers demanded that the BBC remove the broadcast by November 14, apologize and pay compensation, threatening a $1 billion lawsuit. The corporation apologized to the US president but refused to pay compensation.