Investigative journalism outlet Project Veritas captured video of CNN technical director Charles Chester discussing the network’s strategy to keep viewers tuned in by hyping COVID-19 fears.
From the Post Millennial:
“COVID? Gangbusters with ratings,” Chester said. “Which is why we constantly have the death toll on the side.”
CNN placed a ticker displaying the total number of coronavirus cases and deaths both in the United States and globally during segments related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Perhaps most disturbingly, Chester admitted that sometimes he wishes to see the death toll rise higher on the ticker because it would help prove the network’s point about the dangers of the virus:
“Let’s make it higher, like why isn’t it high enough, you know, today? Like it would make our point better if it was higher,” Chester said. “And I’m like, what am I f***ing rallying for? That’s a problem that we’re doing that. You know?”
Explaining why CNN wanted to report a higher coronavirus death toll, Chester said “it’s fear. Like, fear really drives numbers,” referring to TV ratings. “Fear is the thing that keeps you tuned in.
“If it bleeds, it leads,” Chester said with a smirk. “No one ever says those things out loud, but it’s obvious.”
Branching away from COVID, Chester also admitted that the network does not offer unbiased news coverage. Instead, CNN’s hosts ask questions in a way that leads a guest into a particular answer. If a guest is known not to play along, CNN simply doesn’t let them on the network anymore:
“There’s no such thing as unbiased news. It just doesn’t exist. Any reporter on CNN, what they’re actually doing is they’re telling the person what to say,” he said. “It’s always like leading them in a direction before they even open their mouths. And the only people we will let on the air, for the most part, are people that have a proven track record of taking the bait.”
In another video, Chester admitted that CNN is propaganda – though we still would’ve known that without his admission.
These stories comes as some research has shown that U.S. media companies offer overwhelming negative coverage of the virus when compared to international news sources, with one study showing that 91% of U.S. coverage of the virus skews negative.
“Ninety one percent of stories by U.S. major media outlets are negative in tone versus fifty four percent for non-U.S. major sources and sixty five percent for scientific journals,” paper’s abstract reads. “The negativity of the U.S. major media is notable even in areas with positive scientific developments including school re-openings and vaccine trials. Media negativity is unresponsive to changing trends in new COVID-19 cases or the political leanings of the audience.”
