CNN’s Don Lemon found himself defending the network during Monday’s edition of “CNN This Morning.” The morning show welcomed guest Andrew Callaghan to discuss his HBO documentary “This Place Rules.”
Callaghan insisted it is not just a film about the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 but also the media’s influence on the public, which is when he fit in his shot at CNN.
“The movie’s not just about the Capitol riot and all that. It’s also about media echo chambers; you know what I mean?” Callaghan said on CNN (h/t Mediaite).
“And the dangers of the 24-hour news cycle and how I think mainstream media like Fox and even CNN compete for views by running constant, 24-hour news cycles based upon fear, division, outrage, and panic probably to sell ads. So it’s not just about the Capitol riot.”
Lemon stepped in to push back against Callaghan’s claim by lumping CNN alongside Fox News.
“I’m not exactly sure — first of all, I don’t agree with what you’re saying, but I’m not exactly sure how that played into people going into the Capitol and rioting on January 6. There’s nothing fake about CNN,” Lemon said.
Afterward, Callaghan clarified his remark stating it wasn’t about fake news but more so about the influence media can have on the public.
“I’m not saying like fake news,” Callaghan stated. “I’m just saying ramping people up and increasing division during that period of time. Just watching people kind of fall down the rabbit hole and be pushed into action and, just yeah, falling down the conspiracy rabbit hole.”
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
