CNN Rejects Trump Campaign Ad Over 'Fake News' Claims

President Trump's campaign lashed out Tuesday at CNN for censorship of "free speech" after the network refused to air an ad celebrating the president's first 100 days. CNN said that its quarrel with the ad is that it falsely calls the mainstream media "fake news."

“It is absolutely shameful to see the media blocking the positive message that President Trump is trying to share with the country," said the executive director of the Trump campaign, Michael Glassner. "It's clear that CNN is trying to silence our voice and censor our free speech because it doesn't fit their narrative."

The statement from the campaign continues: "CNN takes issue with the ad’s message calling out the mainstream media for peddling fake news and not reporting on the fact that President Trump is making America great again."

During the ad, the words "FAKE NEWS" flash across a screen with the faces of news anchors Andrea Mitchell, Wolf Blitzer, Rachel Maddow, George Stephanopoulos and Scott Pelley. As a statement from CNN notes, these figures from the mainstream media are "not fake news, and therefore the ad is false." CNN notes that per its policy, the ad will be accepted only if the campaign removes the graphic from the ad.

Blitzer himself works at CNN, so it would be surprising if the network was willing to air an ad that says one of its own anchors is "fake news."

"Fake news" typically refers to intentionally false or deliberately fabricated stories meant to draw viewers without regard for the truth; once example is a fake news story from the 2016 campaign that said Pope Francis endorsed Trump for president. Trump and his administration have consistently used the term to describe stories that are factually true and cast the president in a negative light.

Networks can choose not to air ads for a variety of reasons and that the campaign is still free to distribute the ad. CNN frequently has surrogates and defenders of Trump on its shows.

Photo credit: Josh Hallet