CNN is denying accusations that it staged a protest after the London terror attacks.
A man named Mark Antro took and shared the above video on Twitter, sparking the accusations, which flew around conservative media sites and on social networks. Here’s his original tweet:
Donald Trump Jr. shared the video on Twitter, sparking a terse denial from CNN.
Trump Jr. wrote, “Not at all surprising at this point. They create the narrative they want to push & sell it at all costs. #fakenews.” He shared a story on the video by Gateway Pundit, a conservative news site. The allegations that the protest was staged lit up conservative media.
Gateway Pundit argued that some of the same protesters appeared in this photo:
London’s Borough neighborhood offers safety and a place to sleep for hundreds amid the chaos of terror attack. t.co/Bz6egjzA9a
Gateway Pundit reported that the man who filmed the video is a Londoner.
However, CNN adamantly denied that the protest was staged.
CNN Communications tweeted back at Trump Jr., “This is absolute nonsense. You are misleading your followers. CNN didn’t stage a demonstration. Those are the facts.” CNN also tweeted, “This is nonsense. Police let demonstrators through the cordon to show their signs. CNN along with other media simply filmed them doing so.”
CNN shared a story by Mashable that was headlined, “Alt-right trolls make ‘nonsense’ claim that CNN staged a protest in London.”
CNN host Brian Stelter also leapt to the network’s defense. “Far-right twitterers are misleading folks about this video. Bloggers saying CNN was caught ‘staging fake news’. Police allowed demonstrators thru cordon ‘so they could show their signs’ to media, @CNNPR says. CNN, BBC, AP ‘simply filmed them doing so,'” he wrote on Twitter.
The reporter posted this opinion segment on the terrorist attack, which killed seven people and injured at least 48 at London Bridge and Borough Market.
My message to the #LondonBridge attackers: You are a handful of twisted fools hell-bent on taking lives t.co/0v17H67El1
The video in question shows a TV news crew with a few protesters in London. The allegations that the protest was staged appear to stem from the fact the protesters were not in position when the video first started. You can watch it for yourself above.
News.com.au wrote of the video, “CNN anchor Becky Anderson can be seen standing to one side while police and TV producers assist a group of Muslim women assemble a makeshift memorial featuring flowers and protest signs.”
“Look at all the people around me here, behind me here, sad about last night but hopeful for tomorrow,” she said at one point.