Twitter Slaps “Manipulated Media” Warning On Donald Trump Tweet Featuring Fake CNN Clip

Twitter has placed its latest fact check on a Donald Trump tweet after the U.S. president posted a video purporting to show a clip from a CNN report on a Trump-supporting “racist baby.”

Twitter labeled the tweet “manipulated media,” linking to a fact check that states: “Video being shared of CNN report on toddlers is doctored, journalists confirm.” CNN reporters were among those debunking the footage.

The video tweeted by Trump is an edited version of a wildly viral 2019 clip of a black and a white toddler running to greet each other on the streets of New York.

In the version posted by Trump, it shows the black toddler being chased by the white boy, with a fake CNN chyron that reads: “Terrified todler [sic] runs from racist baby. Racist baby probably a Trump voter.”

It then cuts to “what actually happened,” showing the two boys embracing. The video ends with the message: “America is not the problem, fake news is. If you see something, say something. Only you can prevent fake news dumpster fires.”

The video originates from user @CarpeDonktum, a Trump-supporting meme creator. It has been viewed 12M times and generated 156,000 retweets since being posted by Trump on Thursday evening.

It is the third time Twitter has slapped a warning on one of Trump’s tweets after labeling a pair of misleading claims about mail-in ballots in May. Trump responded by signing an executive order taking aim at a key provision of the law that protects tech platforms from liability for the third-party content posted on their sites.

CNN issued a statement to Trump, along with the correct context for the clip.

“CNN did cover this story – exactly as it happened. Just as we reported your positions on race (and poll numbers). We’ll continue working with facts rather than tweeting fake videos that exploit innocent children. We invite you to do the same. Be better,” the network said.

CNN’s chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta also reacted to another manipulated clip that Trump tweeted out on Thursday.

“Straight out of 1984… This Trump tweet is not only bizarre. It’s bogus. I never did a live shot on this so obviously the chyron is a fake,” he wrote.