CNN Business Managing Editor Alex Koppelman announced on Twitter Tuesday that the network is hiring a team that will be dedicated to covering ‘misinformation.’
“I’m hiring 3 people for a new CNN team dedicated to covering misinformation,” Koppelman wrote.
You know, kind of like hiring a career jewel thief to help investigators figure out who pulled off a local diamond heist.
He went on to explain exactly what he meant in describing the gig.
“What do we mean by covering misinformation? Really it’s about covering reality: The uses, abuses, and distortions of it, the people twisting it, and the effect that has on all of us,” added Koppelman.
“We already do a lot of important work on this; we want to do more.”
Hello Twitter! Some very exciting MEDIA JOBS to tell you about. I’m hiring 3 people for a new CNN team dedicated to covering misinformation. Thread about the team/jobs starts here. Please feel free to share far and wide, and if you’re interested, reach out or apply at the links.
— Alex Koppelman (@AlexKoppelman) January 18, 2022
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CNN Hiring Misinformation Team
Critics of the network were quick to slam CNN for the announcement that they were hiring a team to cover misinformation.
“Beyond parody,” wrote Buck Sexton, co-host of The Buck Sexton and Clay Travis Show.
Journalist Glenn Greenwald pointed out that CNN was one of the biggest purveyors of the Russia collusion hoax for years.
“Ground Zero for the insane Trump-is-Putin’s-blackmail-pawn conspiracy theory was CNN,” said Greenwald. “They were led around by CIA to spread the most unhinged conspiracy. Now they really believe they fight, rather than spread, ‘misinformation.'”
Honestly, if they can’t spot the fact that they’d be working for a network which has the market cornered on misinformation, how good can they be? pic.twitter.com/IG5V2JA0eV
— Rusty Weiss ?? (@rustyweiss74) January 19, 2022
Almost exactly one year ago, CNN was called out for promoting a report that the Biden administration was left with no plan by the Trump administration to roll out COVID vaccines and they were being forced to ‘start from scratch.’
@mj_lee broke the story today for @CNN, who has shared it countless times and mentioned it dozens of times on air, citing (you guessed it!) unnamed sources.
Only problem is, Dr. Fauci shot down the claim today at today’s press conference.
Seems he’s got a reason to know. pic.twitter.com/DKWwMMIlrs
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) January 22, 2021
A year prior to that, CNN agreed to a settlement with Covington Catholic student Nicholas Sandmann after various entities at the network portrayed him as an aggressive, Trump-supporting racist when he was involved in a viral interaction with a Native American man.
CNN Agrees To Settle With Covington Catholic Student Nick Sandmann https://t.co/FwoivrdeJg
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 7, 2020
In 2017, three CNN journalists were forced to resign after the cable news network published and ultimately retracted a story linking a Trump transition team member to the Russia-related investigations.
CNN was also consistently doling out misinformation regarding COVID, declaring that “racist assaults and ignorant attacks against Asians” were spreading “faster than the pandemic” and telling viewers it was less deadly than the flu.
They downplayed China’s role in spreading the virus and took their state-run media numbers at face value … until President Biden had won the election.
May I suggest they begin with the Charlottesville #FinePeopleHoax, a damnable calumny that CNN has propagated for years 5 years now?
My repudiation of their role in spreading that myth led, in fact, to my departure from broadcasting for CNN.https://t.co/R6uTc9dJxW https://t.co/GorJfTkx7C
— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) January 19, 2022
RELATED: CNN Called Out For False Report On Trump’s Vaccine Rollout
CNN Adds Rex Chapman
One doesn’t have to go back years to find hilarity in the idea that CNN is hiring people to cover misinformation. In fact, you need only look at an announcement from the same exact day.
Also on Tuesday, CNN announced that they had hired former NBA player, Twitter influencer, and Apple Store aficionado, Rex Chapman, to join its new streaming service set to launch later this year.
NEW: Here are seven times CNN’s newest hire Rex Chapman peddled misinformation on Twitterhttps://t.co/hr4Sc31MyF
— Joseph A. Wulfsohn (@JosephWulfsohn) January 19, 2022
Chapman has consistently been caught spreading misinformation online and failing to apologize or retract despite the fact that his stories oftentimes go viral.
Chapman, known for spreading viral misinformation, is a perfect fit at CNN. Here he got over 20,000 retweets spreading a fake conspiracy theory that GOP officials were locking mailboxes to stop mail in ballots. Zero accountability when called out.https://t.co/aPq9opdElF pic.twitter.com/RullIDtNeU
— Watchdog (@LibWatchdog) January 18, 2022
This past summer, when racial tensions were high in America, Chapman shared a video that falsely portrayed a police officer as having ‘planted’ evidence of drug-dealing activity on a suspect.
I guess you start by realizing it’s obviously a fake narrative with the video cut off.
And then not being dumb enough to retweet it.
That’s how you reform it, dumbass.
— Rusty Weiss ?? (@rustyweiss74) July 26, 2021
Chapman has, in several instances, been caught spreading misinformation but keeps those tweets posted where they can be shared by those unwitting to the reality behind them.
“Do you get mad when you see liars taking advantage of people?” Koppelman asked in his announcement.
He’s practically describing Chapman to a T.
