CNN countered President Trump Thursday night after he posted a doctored version of a video that originally ran on the network.
The doctored version Trump tweeted — which featured ominous music and poorly recreated CNN graphics — was tagged by Twitted as “manipulated media” and a response from the network’s corporate communications department.
“CNN did cover this story – exactly as it happened. Just as we reported your positions on race (and poll numbers). We’ll continue working with facts rather than tweeting fake videos that exploit innocent children. We invite you to do the same. Be better,” the CNN PR account tweeted.
In the real version of the story run by CNN, the two toddlers — one white and one black — “give the biggest hug like true best friends do.”
In the manipulated version posted by Trump, the white child is branded a “racist baby” and likely Trump voter in a doctored CNN chyron. The black child is said to be “terrified.”
“America is not the problem,” reads a graphic that appears on the screen. “Fake news is.”
“In September 2019, CNN reported on a viral video about a friendship between two toddlers,” clarified Twitter after designating the tweet’s content “manipulated.” The site warned viewers, “On Thursday, the president shared a version of the video which many journalists confirmed was edited and doctored with a fake CNN chyron.”
As Trump was posting a phony version of the network’s coverage of race, changes to real coverage were being made internally. CNN staffers were told Thursday night to begin capitalizing not only “Black,” in reference to race, but “White,” too.
See Trump’s tweet with the doctored video, below:
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2020