CNN is taking heat for an outright false chyron that appeared on Saturday when speaking with political scientist and foreign policy expert Ian Bremmer.
Speaking with CNN anchor Victor Blackwell on Saturday, Bremmer discussed an IDF operation that had happened the same day to rescue four hostages being held in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
At one point, CNN’s chyron during Bremmer’s interview stated Benny Gatz — a member of the Israeli war cabinet — delayed an announcement of his resignation due to the “release” of those hostages.
Hamas did not “release” anyone as this was unquestionably a rescue operation.
Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, Shlomi Ziv, and Noa Argamani were the four people who were rescued after they had been held by Hamas in captivity for over 8 months.
Differing accounts arose concerning the toll the IDF’s rescue operation took, as Israeli officials claim there were less than 100 casualties while Gazan officials place the number closer to 300.
Bremmer called out the absurdity of CNN’s coverage on X while acknowledging that Blackwell did try to make the correction on-air.
disappointed to see @cnn chyron of hostage “release” during my interview today when hamas did no such thing.
anchor quickly corrected on air, but this sort of mistake (repeated by un officials and others today) is maddening. pic.twitter.com/Dig01j3v8f
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) June 8, 2024
The video of that segment can be seen here via Fox News:
While Brenner framed the wording as a “mistake” which he found “maddening,” that is a rather generous interpretation for a network known to support and platform all manner of far-left drivel from across the globe.
(And make no mistake, the kiddie glove treatment of Hamas is a decidedly leftist characteristic.)
While CNN’s news coverage devolves into overt propaganda often — think of the “fiery but mostly peaceful” chyron CNN used to describe the George Floyd riots that took place in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during the contentious summer of 2020 — there are two greater issues at play.
Do you trust the establishment media?
First, there is an existential matter. CNN needs to reverse course if the network hopes to extend its shelf life. Left-wing media ran a sprint with former President Donald Trump‘s campaign and subsequent election. The “Trump bump” turned many media outlets into unapologetic leftist propaganda outlets that let truth fall by the wayside.
With outlets like Vice News closing its site, and once respected names like National Public Radio drawing criticism for its decent and disregard for the truth, CNN must tread lightly. Although a titan of media and a staple of the establishment media for many years, more Americans now see the network for what it “used to be” before the Trump Administration and “what it became” because of it.
Misleading chyrons may lead to eyerolls, but those eyerolls can quickly lead to grabbing the remote to change the channel.
The second issue would be how even single words like “release” in place of the reality of a rescue effort could perpetuate a growing and sadly misguided support for barbarity and terrorism that’s festering across the country.
CNN’s use of “release” feels like just another way for the left to paint Israel in the worst light possible, while simultaneously making Hamas look as reasonable as possible.
While some will surely act in bad faith and ignore the truth of Saturday, others will only take CNN at their word and move forward actually believing Hamas would do such a thing.
How can we be hopeful to lead a younger generation away from supporting terrorism when they aren’t even equipped with the truth?
For its own sake, at the very least, CNN should aim higher.
