We hate to break it to Jim Acosta, but sometimes, CNN really does suck:
WATCH: CNN Reporter Incorrectly Attributes Gun Activist’s Phrasing to NRA’s Dana Loesch https://t.co/2WxYep2vuh pic.twitter.com/kNA8LPAWYW
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) July 31, 2018
Sounds about right.
More from Mediaite’s Caleb Howe:
“There’s a tweet by Dana Loesch,” [reporter Tom Foreman told Wolf Blitzer], pointing at the text he was reading, “that basically said, ‘3D printed ghost guns, as they call these, which can be made at home and don’t have serial numbers rendering them untraceable, symbolize freedom and innovation’.”
Here’s the tweet Foreman was citing, sent out by anti-gun activist group The Trace last week:
NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch says 3D-printed "ghost guns"—which can be made at home and don't have serial numbers, rendering them untraceable—symbolize "freedom and innovation." https://t.co/xFMw5rJwSg
— The Trace (@teamtrace) July 24, 2018
As Howe points out:
Dana Loesch saying “rendering guns untraceable symbolizes freedom” would certainly be hot news, but that’s not what she said. You can watch the video in the tweet.
The words in a quote are no small thing. Changing them changes the character of Loesch’s comments entirely, from a remark about the technologies – the internet, 3-D printing, as she explains in the clip – into a remark about the untraceability. The NRA prefers illegal and untraceable guns is the absolutely clear and intended implication of the segment. That is why he drew a distinction to say that “other” people find the technology fascinating, or collectors find it interesting. He’s saying they feel that way *as opposed to* Dana celebrating the degree to which it can be traced.
This wouldn’t be the first time Loesch’s remarks were misrepresented. But CNN’s supposed to hold themselves to a higher journalistic standard.
I'm. So. Shocked.
CNN falsely attributed a quote to Dana.
But please, never – ever – question CNN's veracity. Because that's an attack on free speech and, really, civilization as we know it.#CNNIsFakeNews https://t.co/VRfyuAhuYo— Vern Demerest (@TxAv8r) July 31, 2018
The question is: Was it an honest mistake, or an intentional one? Anyone paying attention would’ve immediately noticed that the tweet wasn’t Loesch’s. Yet Foreman attributed it to her and Blitzer didn’t correct him.
This is pretty unbelievable. https://t.co/dQNaciOIv5
— Chris Loesch (@ChrisLoesch) July 31, 2018
This … is CNN.
This is an apple. We will try to tell you it’s a banana and then wonder why no one believes us anymore. https://t.co/HmTX7hobFn
— Orange Muppet Energy (@sunnyright) August 1, 2018
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