Taking liberties: CNN celebrates freedom of the press by misquoting Abraham Lincoln

Brett T. | 6:51 PM on July 05, 2017

CNN is having a bit of a tough time shaking the accusation that it deals in “fake news,” and ironically, the more the network protests, the deeper it manages to dig itself. “We are real news,” insists Jim Acosta, and three journalists resign over a story that the network was forced to retract. And then, in tracking down the creator (or perhaps not) of an anti-CNN video, the network managed to send #CNNBlackmail trending.

CNN Just Published A Fake Quote From Abraham Lincoln https://t.co/dW4ecYsmnH

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) July 5, 2017

https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/882647951981654017

At least CNN almost had a good Independence Day while most people were distracted from the news. While CNN Politics sent a series of tweets on the importance of a free press, Mollie Hemingway of the Federalist noted that a quote CNN attributed to Abraham Lincoln was heavily paraphrased to the point the meaning was altered.

Happy #FourthOfJuly from CNN Politics!

Celebrate America and its freedoms this Independence Day. pic.twitter.com/x4XAdWEOl2

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 4, 2017

Hemingway notes that while it certainly sounds like Lincoln was testifying to the importance of a free press, the “non-fake” version went something like this”

Let the people know the facts, let them see the danger; but let every effort be made to allay public fears, to inspire the masses with confidence and hope, and, above all, to frown down every attempt to create a panic.

“So probably not an advisement to spin a Russian conspiracy story out of thin gruel for months on end, rather than to come to terms with the fact that someone you didn’t like was elected president,” Hemingway concludes.

But wait, there’s more!