On Thursday, Chris Cuomo of CNN likened the phrase 'fake news' to the ‘N-word.'
The Trump administration frequently throws around the accusation "fake news," and one journalist has decided he’s really had quite enough.
On Thursday, Chris Cuomo of CNN likened the phrase to the ‘N-word.'
During an interview broadcast on SiriusXM, Cuomo said, “I see being called 'fake news' as the equivalent of the N-word for journalists, the equivalent of calling an Italian any of the ugly words that people have for that ethnicity. That's what fake news is to a journalist."
He continued, “It is an ugly insult, and you’d better be right if you’re going to charge a journalist with lying on purpose.”
Among the regular users of the ‘fake news’ assertion is President Donald Trump.
In one of his recent tweets, Trump wrote, “I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, and everyone knows it. Some FAKE NEWS media, in order to marginalize, lies!"
In another one, he said, "Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting.”
Meanwhile, hours after his interview, Cuomo apologized for the analogy.
He tweeted, "I was wrong. Calling a journalist fake -nothing compared to the pain of a racial slur. I should not have said it. I apologize."
