President Trump tweeted a Carpe Donktum video Thursday afternoon satirizing how CNN covers news but "journalists" were unable to take a joke and quickly labeled the clearly satirical video as ‘manipulated media’.
The video in question depicts two toddlers, at first, one running away from the other, according to ‘CNN coverage’ while in reality, the toddlers were running towards each other for a hug. Anyone with a brain could see that Trump was jokingly pointing out that CNN *may* have reporting bias. Twitter quickly labeled Trump’s video ‘manipulated media’.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2020
CNN Communications responded with a tweet of their own, insisting they covered the story with accuracy and “exactly as it happened”.
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. https://t.co/T1nBtejZta
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) June 19, 2020
"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 tweet added. In case you were still wondering if CNN might have reporting bias, this might clear the air.
Speaking of exploiting children to push a political agenda, I’m reminded of a CNN coronavirus townhall with expert panelists which included teen environmental star, Greta Thunberg.
This isn’t the first time conservative satire has been mistaken for fact. The Babylon Bee was fact-checked for running an article claiming that CNN purchased an industrial-sized washing machine to spin the news. Snopes found it necessary to make sure that people understood that the Babylon Bee may have been joking.