A recent CNN headline story claimed that leftist Antifa protestors are forced into violence in an effort to restore peace. The network has since backpedaled, changing the headline of the piece amidst public backlash; the news network’s original approach praised violent Antifa protestors and their actions.
Despite the quick editorial shift, the fact that CNN would attempt to normalize such a violent group is disturbingly telling. What could have motivated the network to paint this faction in such a positive light?
First, we have to get to the bottom of what exactly Antifa is, and how they’ve managed to garner sympathy from the establishment left.
What is Antifa?
Antifa is a far-left group that is far more radicalized than typical Democrats and mainline liberals. CNN describes them in the following way.
“[Antifa] has come to represent what experts who track these organizations call the ‘hard left’ — an ideology that runs afield of the Democratic Party platform and supports oppressed populations as it protests the amassing of wealth by corporations and elites.”
CNN’s recent piece portrayed the violent group as disadvantaged, disenfranchised and virtually forced into violence by the rest of us. Antifa’s violent approach to righting perceived wrongs and forcing people to go along with what they believe was promoted as “seeking peace” by the news network. Calling Antifa a grassroots organization and failing to point out its connections to George Soros and other leftists, CNN missed the mark by a wide margin.
CNN Continues:
“Antifa leaders admit they’re willing to physically attack anyone who employs violence against them or who condones racism — as long as force is used in the name of eradicating hatred.”
Antifa’s Troubling History
Anti-fascist groups originated in Nazi Germany; the first known appearance of Antifa groups in the United States was in 1999 during protests at the World Trade Organization summit in Seattle. The group was also present and protesting at the Occupy Wall Street movement.
More recently, Antifa protestors derailed talks by Ann Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos at Berkeley; both were scheduled to speak but had to cancel because of violent protests. The latest Antifa clash was in Charlottesville, where a woman was killed after protestors and counter-protesters descended on the city.
“Antifa is impossible to track,” according to CNN, who stated “very few” were willing to take their masks off during interviews and that it took “months” to find those who would “share their stories.”
Antifa targets those conservatives who they claim are “alt-right” and who follow President Trump. They blame their violence on Trump himself, claiming he instigated violence during his campaign and at his rallies. According to its shameless sympathizers, Antifa is simply defending itself against hate speech and people they disagree with – the violence has simply been to protect themselves. Despite giving Antifa an excuse for violence, CNN admits:
“Antifa activists often don’t hesitate to destroy property, which many see as the incarnation of unfair wealth distribution” and “sometimes launch attacks against people who aren’t physically attacking them.”
CNN’s Backpedaling
CNN dialed back on this pro-Antifa narrative after being called out on social media and by other news outlets. The original title of the piece was “Unmasking the leftist Antifa movement: Activists seek peace through violence,” but it has since been changed to a more journalistic and neutral “Unmasking the Leftist Antifa Movement” dropping any hint of violence from the title.
The title change came after outraged readers took to social media to compare CNN to George Orwell’s classic novel, 1984. “Doublespeak” is common in the Orwellian universe and on Twitter, users compared CNNs attempt to frame the violent Antifa movement as victims acting in self-defense to the work of news agencies in the novel.
According to the Daily Mail, Antifa wasn’t just targeting those they saw as fascists – several reporters were assaulted as well during recent protests. In Charlottesville, when asked about the assaults on journalists, Antifa spokesmen replied that the assaults and injuries were actually the fault of the reporter who should not have been filming their actions.
Other news outlets took a more neutral approach to covering Antifa’s presence and actions at recent protests, or downplayed the violence caused by this group entirely. CNN’s headline that was actually pro-Antifa and supportive of the violence as a means to an end was taken down less than 24 hours after it published, and was replaced with a more neutral headline.
This switch – and the original piece – highlight the lengths that CNN will go to to package and frame a story for readers, whether the news is authentic or not.
~ Conservative Zone