Did a guest appear on CNN to claim the channel was war-mongering and end his interview with CNN host Jake Tapper by using foul language? No, that's not true: The video is doctored to replace CNN's guest, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, with an unidentified young man.
TikTok account pravda_bel posted a video (archived here) on September 13, 2023. The video quickly spread on other Belarusian and Russian TikTok accounts (here, here and here). The text on the video, translated into English from Russian by Lead Stories staff, reads:
A host on CNN channel was cussed out live 🔥 Jacob Tapper wanted to discuss whether Elon Musk should be pursued for disconnecting Starlink in Crimea, but received a reply he hardly expected. Good talk, as they say 😁
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Fri Sep 15 08:04:58 2023 UTC)
In the original video posted by CNN, Jake Tapper asked US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken for his opinion on whether Elon Musk should have repercussions after he allegedly disconnected the Starlink satellite network over Crimea last year. "None of this concerns you?" - the reporter inquired after the Secretary of State could not comment on Musk's decision.
In the doctored video, the unidentified man answers the question by saying "Not at all, and I think you should be happy about it, but you're not because you work for CNN and CNN is a warmonger who profits more as the war escalates" and then he ends with a personal insult aimed at Tapper. The digitally manipulated video also reveals a banner on the lower screen to advertise a telegram channel known to promote pro-Russia and anti-Biden claims.
