Two weeks ago, right-wing news outlet Project Veritas posted a video of a CNN staffer admitting to an undercover journalist multiple wrong doings CNN committed during the 2020 election season. 

In the video posted by Project Veritas on YouTube, the CNN staffer boasted about CNN being directly responsible for former President Donald Trump losing the 2020 election. The CNN staffer even went so far as to call it “propaganda”. The CNN staffer, Charles Chester explained how CNN was making direct efforts to remove Trump from office and help now President Biden win the election. Chester said, “I 100% believe that if it wasn’t for CNN, I don’t know that Trump would have got voted out.”

Though many of the other quotes in the video are misleading due to clever editing, it is still concerning to many. On the CNN website the news company claims their mission is to “inform, engage and empower the World” (CNN.com) and that CNN, “stands for excellence in our journalism and our products.”

So it is slightly concerning that a news source followed by millions of people nationwide and worldwide and who claim to be concerned with disseminating truthful information would engage in a diabolical scheme against a political candidate to push their own agenda.

The story does not stop there. Chester in a series of sit downs with the undercover journalist claimed multiple other things were going on behind the scenes at CNN. Chester claimed they brought in many medical experts to push the idea that Trump was not medically fit to serve as President. While simultaneously pushing the narrative that Biden was in top physical shape for his age and fit to serve. Chester claims they specifically showed shots of President Biden jogging or looking sharp in his aviator sunglasses. 

Besides the election CNN also had other motivations. In the video posted by Project Veritas Chester claims the network will now focus on climate change as COVID fatigue sets in for viewers. “Fear sells.” says Chester confidently in the video.

Fear sells sounds a lot different than inform, engage and empower the world. Chester claims these directions came from the top, namely from Jeff Zucker the president of CNN. So it is no wonder why so many people are upset over the contents of the video. 

Having a leading news network like CNN openly pushing their own political agenda is seriously concerning. However, sadly, it does not come as a surprise to many. CNN and even other news sources on the left and right have become increasingly more polarized over the recent years due to social media and other forces. Especially as our country works to come together during a period of civil unrest and other social issues such as voter I.D. laws and transgender rights. Having a news source spread misleading information is actively thwarting the unity people are attempting to achieve. 

So what can be done? Well, nothing. CNN is a private company just like Fox News and others. So their content is theirs. Regardless of that, news sources in our country are trusted by the people to spread trustworthy information. However, everyday we see more and more how establishment media are actively working to push their own agendas. Fox news, Washington Post, and others are all guilty of this. News companies now have lost all sense of what being a journalist is. It is not finding stories to confirm your beliefs, it is doing the due diligence to report the unbiased truth regardless of personal belief. 

This issue in American politics is not one to be taken lightly. Unity does not come from this. Everyday the American people lose faith in the news and in our government institutions as a whole. Something that should not be taken lightly. Now is the time to change. With all the uncertainty in our world having news sources that are trusted by the people on the right and left, will help the American people come together.

CNN ought to follow the principles they have stated on their website, or at least tell people their motives explicitly in the name of the unity they preach so often about.