Just when you think the left-wing media can't stoop any lower in their never-ending quest to excuse terrible behavior by people they are afraid to criticize, someone spins a narrative like the one CNN had the audacity to post on X following thealleged ISIS-inspired bombing attemptoutside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's home at Gracie Mansion.
Prosecutors allege that the attempted attack was carried out by two men, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi. According to afederal complaint, Balat said he planned an attack bigger than the Boston Marathon bombing after being arrested by police. Additionally, both men allegedly referenced ISIS following the incident, with Kayumi captured on NYPD bodycam footage replying "ISIS" when asked why he did it.
Those all seem like very important details to include in a story about the incident. So, let's check in with CNN's framing.
"Two Pennsylvania teenagers crossed into New York City Saturday morning for what could’ve been a normal day enjoying the city during abnormally warm weather. But in less than an hour, their lives would drastically change as the pair would be arrested for throwing homemade bombs during an anti-Muslim protest outside of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home," CNN's post on X (formerly Twitter) read.
The ridicule was almost instantaneous, and it was withering. CNN ultimately deleted the post, but only after the pile on.
OutKick reached out to CNN to ask why it deleted the post. The PR team pointed us to a follow-up post on X.
"A post regarding the two individuals arrested for throwing homemade bombs outside of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home failed to reflect the gravity of the incident thereby breaching the editorial standards we require for all our reporting. It has therefore been deleted," the post said.
While the company claimed the post breached editorial standards, it strains credulity that massive online backlash wasn't the main reason the post was removed.
While CNN deleted the post, it's worth breaking down the framing that remained up for several hours prior to its deletion. And the headline and first paragraph of the storyon CNN.comcontain similar phrasing.
OutKick asked multiple CNN PR contacts if it planned to update the headline on CNN.com or the first paragraph of the story. They did not immediately respond.
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