Swedish public broadcaster Svt has updated a clip of Donald Trump's January 6, 2021 speech following revelations of misleading editing, similar to the scandal that hit British Bbc. The channel added explanations and pauses in the video to provide clearer context. Criticism has come from politicians and media after Kvartal's investigation.
On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump delivered a speech outside the White House shortly before supporters stormed the Capitol. In the speech, he urged listeners to act "peacefully and patriotically," but this part was omitted in a clip aired by Bbc in the documentary "Panorama." The editing created the impression that Trump directly incited violence, leading to the resignation of Bbc's CEO Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness. Trump now threatens to sue Bbc for one billion dollars, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
News site Kvartal revealed on November 13, 2025, that Svt had published a similar clip on its website, from a U.S. documentary purchased ahead of the 2024 U.S. election. The clip showed two minutes from a 1.5-hour film focusing on concerns from Trump's former employees, but lacked the peaceful urging and created a misleading impression.
Following Kvartal's article and criticism on social media, including from Moderate profile Hanif Bali ("Wow. Reasonably, Svt's chiefs should resign"), MP Martin Kinnunen (SD), and MEP Alice Teodorescu Måwe (KD), Svt updated the material. They added black boxes with pause signs between clip segments and an explanatory text.
Karin Ekman, program director for Svt News, commented: "It's good that we were noticed about this clip. Now we will consider how to ensure that short clips in connection with documentaries always have an understandable context." Previously, Svt had reviewed its material and felt confident, but now they have changed it for clarity.
Norwegian NRK has also found and altered a dubious segment about the January 6 events, showing a broader impact of the Bbc scandal on public broadcasters.
