CNN has been caught republishing exact talking points from the Chinese government in one of its latest reports on the coronavirus, as reported by Fox News.
In the report, CNN reported on the Chinese government’s efforts to halt the spread of the coronavirus in one of the branches of its military, with the headline “China’s PLA Navy is controlling coronavirus and aircraft carrier’s deployment proves it.”
The CNN article even goes so far as to praise the Chinese military’s efforts, while criticizing the United States military for allegedly failing to do the same with similar outbreaks on several aircraft carriers, saying “The PLA Navy has no such issues.”
The Daily Caller highlighted several key instances of how the CNN report lined up with China’s PLA military press release almost word-for-word.
The move was widely condemned on social media by figures on both sides of the political spectrum, including Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and the Washington Post’s Isaac Fish. CNN has not responded to requests for comment from Fox and other outlets asking to address the controversy.