CNN managed to stun even the most media-weary conservatives with a chyron from its coverage of riots this week in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The video: As reporter Omar Jimenez broadcast live on Tuesday night from in front of burning wreckage in the city, the chyron read “Fiery But Mostly Peaceful Protests After Police Shooting.”
- Clips and screen grabs of the moment surfaced on social media on Wednesday and went viral.
Jimenez, equipped with goggles and a gas mask, reported that on the second night of unrest over a videotaped shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old black man, by local police on Sunday: “What you’re seeing behind me is one of multiple locations that have been burning in Kenosha Wisconsin over the course of the night.”
- “What you are seeing now, these image, came and come in stark contrast to what we saw over the course of the daytime hours in Kenosha and into the early evening, which were largely peaceful demonstrations in the face of law enforcement,” he said.
- “It wasn’t until night fell that things began to get a little bit more contentious.”
The reaction: Right-leaning observers have often criticized the press for emphasizing the non-violent aspects of protests against racism and policing that have raged nationwide for nearly three months — even amid rioting, looting and spikes in violent crime.
Still, many commentators, including Jason Howerton, expressed disbelief that the CNN chyron could be real.
Podcaster Ben Shapiro also refused to believe his eyes.
The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh said the clip was beyond “beyond parody.”
Writer Stephen Miller wondered if CNN had no shame.
A history of not seeing violence: The network was previously mocked for swapping out a chyron during another broadcast by Jimenez from Kenosha on Monday that referred to unrest in the lakeside city of 100,000 as “violent protests.”
- After about 15 seconds, the word “violent” was removed from the text.
In May, when riots first erupted in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd in local police custody, MSNBC reporter Ali Velshi observed on-air from in front of a burning building in the city: “This is mostly a protest. It is not generally speaking unruly, but fires have been started and this crowd is relishing that.”
President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday he was mobilizing federal authorities and National Guard troops to Kenosha in response to “lawlessness” and violence in the city following
- Trump — who has criticized Democrats as too tolerant of violence amid nationwide protests against racism and policing — said Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers had accepted federal assistance.
Speaking at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night, Vice President Pence condemned the riots, saying: “The violence must stop, whether in Minneapolis, Portland or Kenosha.”
