Well, it looks like CNN stepped in it again. This time, the network has been forced to issue an on-air retraction after airing “digitally altered” photos of former President Donald Trump and right-wing activist Laura Loomer.
Yes, you read that right—CNN, the bastion of “trustworthy” journalism, showed fake photos of Trump and Loomer across multiple segments on Friday and Saturday, and it took them until afterward to realize a third party had duped them.
During the retraction, a CNN host admitted, “On review, this image had been digitally altered by a third party and should not have been included. We regret the error.” Well, I guess that clears it all up, right? Just a little mix-up, nothing to see here. Except this isn’t just a minor blunder—this is CNN airing doctored images of a former president and a prominent conservative influencer as part of their programming. If Fox News had pulled something like this, you can bet the outrage would be deafening.
WATCH:
CNN @CNN was just forced to issue an on air retraction after @andersoncooper and other hosts ran fake & photoshopped pictures of me and President Trump on air last week in an effort to demonize me for the crime of flying on his plane to the Presidential debate. pic.twitter.com/bdXJHG2doF
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) September 26, 2024
Laura Loomer, never one to shy away from a fight, wasted no time calling out CNN for their latest misstep. After seeing the fake photos and CNN’s rather weak apology, Loomer took to X (formerly Twitter) to express her frustration. She ripped into Anderson Cooper, specifically criticizing him for sending a female colleague to issue the on-air retraction instead of owning up to it himself. “How much of a coward do you have to be to use fake pics to defame me and @realDonaldTrump and then not apologize yourself?” Loomer wrote.
Hey @andersoncooper
Why are you sending a female colleague of yours to apologize for your defamation?
If you do not issue a retraction in writing on X for showing fake and photoshopped pics of me and President Trump in an effort to spew a sick, misogynistic, and defamatory… https://t.co/UCTeFJURfh pic.twitter.com/uFbkfcMdfa
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) September 26, 2024
And she didn’t stop there. Loomer put CNN on notice, making it crystal clear that if they don’t issue a proper written retraction, she’s prepared to take legal action. “Issue a retraction in writing and on air or else you’re getting sued,” she warned, adding that she’s already gearing up to sue Bill Maher over a separate incident. Loomer has always been fierce, but now she’s armed with receipts and ready to hit back where it hurts: in the courtroom.
The real question is, how does something like this even happen at a major news network? You’d think CNN would have learned by now that trust in the media is at an all-time low, and stunts like this don’t help. It’s not just about Trump or Loomer—it’s about basic journalistic standards. At a time when the media is quick to preach about “misinformation,” it’s pretty rich to see them pushing manipulated content themselves.
In the end, CNN’s on-air apology feels like too little, too late. Their credibility—already hanging by a thread for many—is taking yet another hit. If they were hoping to avoid lawsuits and bad press, they might want to start by fact-checking their own content before it hits the airwaves. But hey, at least they “regret the error,” right?
