Former CNN chief Jeff Zucker told staff not to investigate the “lab leak” theory

modes

by Ariel Zilber

March 6, 2023 | 8:14 a.m

Jeff Zucker, then president of CNN, told his staff not to investigate the “lab leak theory” behind the origins of COVID-19 because he thought it was “Trump’s talking point,” according to a report.

An insider is “in good standing” on CNN In an interview with Fox News Digital on Monday That Zucker gave the order in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.

“People are slowly waking up from the fog,” the insider told Fox News Digital.

“It’s kind of crazy that we haven’t chased it harder.”

Major news organizations including CNN, The New York Times, MSNBC and others have come under slander in recent days after a recent government report concluded that an accidental leak from a Chinese laboratory was the most likely explanation for the COVID outbreak.

In the early weeks and months of the pandemic, prominent media figures, public health officials, and Democratic Party elected officials dismissed the “lab leak” theory as “exposed” — and some suggested it was racist to even discuss the topic.

The Post requested comment from CNN and Zucker.

One of Zucker’s charges following his boss’s edict was Oliver Darcy, the network’s media correspondent, who wrote an article in the early days of the pandemic titled: “Here’s How to Debunk Coronavirus Misinformation and Conspiracy Theories From Friends and Family.”

“While the coronavirus pandemic has isolated family and friends within their homes, in many cases it has led to increased communication online or on the phone with loved ones,” Darcy wrote on March 28, 2020.

“But in some cases, relatives and friends share bad information — whether that’s bad science about how to prevent the virus, debunking rumors about cities being put on lockdown, or conspiracy theories about the origins of Covid-19,” he wrote. .

“While no strain of misinformation is perfect, misinformation related to the public health crisis has a particularly dangerous component.”

Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” said during a broadcast that “the far-right has now found its own virus conspiracy theory” when discussing the lab leak.

Last week, Tom Elliott, a freelance journalist, posted a thread on Twitter featuring clips from MSNBC and CNN personalities dismissing the possibility of a lab leak as a “conspiracy theory.”

Under Zucker’s direction, CNN became the news network that took the most hostile stance toward then-President Donald Trump.

During press conferences, Trump famously sparred with CNN reporters, especially White House correspondent Jim Acosta.

Last year, Zucker was forced to resign as president of CNN after it was learned that he had been in a consensual relationship for years with chief marketing officer, Allison Golost.

Zucker was replaced by Chris Licht, who had been commissioned by his bosses at Warner Bros. to make the film. corporate giant Discovery to steer the network away from partisan commentary and toward straight news reporting.