CNN was accused of pushingout “pro-Iran regime propaganda” by the Trump administration on Thursday after a reporter for the network said itappeared daily life was continuingdespite theongoing war.
Senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen said during a segment that all the shelves in shops are stocked, “even with fresh things,” as he casually held a cup of coffee.
“Fuel seems readily available, and you just don’t see any degree of panic anywhere,” he said.
Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnsonwho slammed Pleitgen’s report while sharing a 30-second clip of the segment.
“CNN appears to now be doing straight-up pro-Iran regime propaganda because someone gave this guy a coffee…” he wrote on X.
Pleitgen shot back at Johnson that he bought the cup of joe.
CNN is currently the only American media outlet in Iran – though the network noted it’s with permission from the Iranian government.
The State Department said in a statement to anNPR reporterthat “we encourage media outlets to verify information with official US government sources before publication,” when asked why it considered CNN’s report propaganda.
“The criticism of Pleitgen is unfair and suggests an all-too-common unfamiliarity with the basic tenets of journalism,” Stelter wrote.
“Foreign correspondents want to ‘go there,’ as that old CNN marketing campaign said, and tell the rest of us what’s happening. It was helpful, then, to hear Pleitgen report on everyday life at a gas station along a highway to Tehran.”
Source: Drudge Report
