CNN orders anchors to stop using ‘big lie’ to describe Trump’s stolen-election claims

CNN’s new president, Chris Licht, told his staff to refrain from using the phrase “the big lie” to refer to former President Donald Trump’s theories about Democrats stealing the 2020 presidential election.

Mr. Licht worries that adopting the term used by Democrats damages the perception of impartiality at the network, according to reports.

In a Tuesday call with CNN management and executive producers, the network president encouraged producers to adopt the terms “Trump election lie” or “election lies” instead, according to Mediate, which reports on media and politics.

Mr. Licht clarified during the call that he was merely suggesting staff tone it down on using “the big lie,” and that it was not to be received as a mandate.

Not all staff are enthused with the proposal.

“It’s worrisome that we’re being told how to talk about one of the worst things that ever happened to American democracy,” a CNN insider told the news outlet. “We have to call lies, lies, whether they’re small lies or big lies. Is there any lie bigger than that lie?”

The network has leaned heavily on the term this month as the House Jan. 6 committee unveils its findings in a series of public hearings after a nearly yearlong investigation.

CNN has mentioned “the big lie” 168 times this month according to TVEyes, a media monitoring service.

Mr. Licht, who took the helm in May of this year, passed the new guidance just days after calling on staff to tamp down the network’s overuse of ’BREAKING NEWS’ in graphics accompanying stories.

“Its impact has become lost on the audience,” Mr. Licht wrote in a memo outlining his guidance for using the term. “We are truth-tellers, focused on informing, not alarming our viewers.”