Since its establishment in 1980 by American media proprietors Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld, CNN, a transnational news channel and website based in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., has been embroiled in a number of scandals, critiques, and claims. Now controlled by the media giant Warner Bros. in Manhattan, the channel is well-known for its spectacular live coverage of breaking news, some of which has come under fire for being unduly sensationalistic.
These days, CNN’s claim to be “The Most Trusted Name in News” is turning out to be untrue. There is evidence demonstrating how CNN may manipulate and misrepresent the story, so these are not simply conjectures or my thoughts.
Do you remember the incident in which former President Donald Trump chastised two NFL players for kneeling during the playing of the national anthem? The majority of people are aware of his objection to kneeling, which is that he believes it is disrespectful to our nation and its soldiers, but CNN’s titled the incident, “Trump singles out African American Players.” This presents an entirely false and incorrect picture of what Trump really did.
Additionally, Trump’s pre-election remarks on illegal immigrants from Mexico were misinterpreted by CNN. Trump stated that many of the undocumented immigrants entering our country are criminals and rapists, adding that some of them are fine people as well. However, CNN’s title, “Trump Labels Mexicans as Rapists,” is blatantly false and deceptive.
This isn’t meant to defend or paint Trump in a positive light—I’m not his biggest fan—but rather to demonstrate how CNN, a once-reliable and excellent news source, has evolved into a 24-hour opinion show that consistently presents wildly false information as “news.”
I feel compelled to bring up the event that occurred on August 26, 2020. “Fiery But Mostly Peaceful Protests After Police Shooting” was the caption that CNN showed over footage of a structure that was on fire during the Kenosha turmoil. The message drew criticism from conservatives and other social media users, including Eric Trump, the son of former President Donald Trump. “Fiery but peaceful” is a contradiction in terms, and it astounds me that the news broadcast can call the protests peaceful when there are images of properties being set on fire. CNN’s reputation was undoubtedly damaged by this type of reporting.
The latest scandal involves the inability of CNN’s senior anchors to do in-the-moment fact checks of remarks made by former presidents Trump and Biden during their moderating of the presidential debate. While on stage, Trump disseminated a number of lies on everything from veterans’ care to the economy and his involvement in the Capitol incident on January 6, 2021. Many questioned why CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, the two moderators, did not challenge or interject Trump’s untrue accusations while Biden was having difficulty doing so.
Dana Bash’s silence is not surprising; she has a history of either keeping quiet or appearing uninformed about significant issues. When she was interviewing Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee, they talked about his desire to shut down the government due to the budget imbalance. “Ma’am, you can’t keep spending 7 trillion dollars a year when you’re only taking in 5 trillion,” he said, making an extremely sensible-sounding argument. An appropriate follow-up question was due with this statement, but Dana Bash didn’t say a thing. It is obscene how frequently journalists fail to follow up with questions or point out necessary facts.
The public’s overall ignorance is mostly the result of the media’s actions.
Reference