Glenn Greenwald: North Korea ‘usually a bit more subtle’ with propaganda than pro-Psaki CNN

Investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald said CNN appears to be modeling itself after Kim Jong-un’s police state propaganda to start out 2021. 

The famous co-founder of The Intercept called out “Reliable Sources” host Brian Stelter on Monday for applauding the following network chyron on White House press secretary Jen Psaki: “Psaki promises to share ’accurate info’ (how refreshing).”

“I once again humbly submit that this would be a bridge too far even for North Korean State Television, which is usually a bit more subtle and discerning than this,” Mr. Greenwald wrote.

The comment on CNN’s politicization of what was historically straight news comes just months after Mr. Greenwald resigned from The Intercept due to censorship of a story on President Joseph R. Biden’s son Hunter.

“I could not sleep at night knowing that I allowed any institution to censor what I want to say and believe — least of all a media outlet I co-founded with the explicit goal of ensuring this never happens to other journalists, let alone to me, let alone because I have written an article critical of a powerful Democratic politician vehemently supported by the editors in the imminent national election,” he wrote on substack.com in October.

“But the pathologies, illiberalism, and repressive mentality that led to the bizarre spectacle of my being censored by my own media outlet are ones that are by no means unique to The Intercept,” he said. “These are the viruses that have contaminated virtually every mainstream center-left political organization, academic institution, and newsroom.”

Similarly, CNN’s chyrons were lambasted in August when it highlighted “FIERY BUT MOSTLY PEACEFUL PROTESTS AFTER POLICE SHOOTING” in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  

“What you’re seeing is one of multiple locations that have been burning in Kenosha, Wisconsin, over the course of the night, a second night since Jacob Blake was seen shot in the back seven times by a police officer,” correspondent Omar Jimenez told told the network’s Laura Jarret at the time. “And what you are seeing now, these images came in stark contrast to what we saw over the course of the daytime hours in Kenosha and into the early evening, which were largely peaceful demonstrations in the face of law enforcement.”

Critics said the juxtaposition of Mr. Jimenez standing in front of a giant blaze with the network chyron was a jaw-dropping example of political bias.

“It’s impossible to dunk on CNN harder than it dunks on itself,” podcaster Buck Sexton said.

“The standard read on why the media does things like this is that they’re trying to ingratiate themselves to the left, but I don’t think that’s true in this case,” added Allahpundit of the conservative website Hotair. “Spin like this will draw much more flak from the center and right than it will praise from progressives. To fart out something this addled, you have to believe it yourself. This is CNN’s copy team demonstrating that it’s unable to conceptualize what’s happening in Kenosha as anything but good on balance.”

I once again humbly submit that this would be a bridge too far even for North Korean State Television, which is usually a bit more subtle and discerning than this: https://t.co/O4Czbj0Yvp

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 25, 2021