Tell CNN: Stop free airtime for Trump

Donald Trump knows how to manipulate the media into covering his speeches live—giving him valuable free airtime to spew vitriol, lies, and dangerous disinformation. News networks need to stop showing his speeches live.

Sign the petition immediately: Donald Trump should not get free airtime on CNN or other news networks!

Dear MoveOn member,

We wanted to make sure you saw the email we sent after major news networks gave Trump free airtime to spew hate and vitriol on Tuesday. Here are our demands: 1) Stop covering Trump live, 2) fact-check his statements, 3) don't give him free airtime. 

Will you add your name to our petition calling on CNN to stop giving Trump free airtime to spout his lies, dangerous conspiracy theories, and vitriol? We are nearly at 100,000 signatures. Help us reach our goal.

News networks need to stop showing Trump's speeches live. While MSNBC deliberately did not broadcast Trump's 2024 candidacy announcement this week, CNN joined the MAGA-endorsing Fox News in covering his speech live. Major news media can cover Trump by providing clips with context and fact-checking. They can do this without giving him free, live coverage and without amplifying his abusive attacks, bigoted insults, QAnon-level conspiracies, and dangerous deceptions, as CNN is choosing to do. 

Here's the bottom line: Trump sought to overturn the 2020 election and actively incited a deadly, white supremacist-led insurrection. He continues to lie and claim he won the election and is sowing chaos in our country. He can be covered as news, but CNN and others should not be giving him free airtime. 

Add your name to tell CNN to stop covering Donald Trump live, then share the petition with three loved ones to spread the word.

You can check out the initial email below. 

Thanks for all you do. 

–Justin, Valeria, Isbah, David, and the rest of the team

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Donald Trump should not get free airtime on CNN and other news networks. Sign this petition immediately.

Dear MoveOn member,

In 2016, major news networks gave Donald Trump $2 billion in free advertising.¹ They haven't learned—and are about to do it again. 

As Donald Trump announced he was running for president again, we saw that the news media learned nothing from the last go-round about how to avoid his toxic manipulations. Just like FOX, CNN covered his speech live—essentially giving him free rein to dominate airwaves and reach viewers with his narcissistic brand of conspiracy theories and abuse.

And he doesn't have to pay a dime for all this free advertising.

Donald Trump knows how to manipulate the media into covering his speeches live—giving him valuable free airtime to spew vitriol, lies, and dangerous disinformation. CNN and other news networks need to stop showing his speeches live.

CNN: Stop giving Donald Trump—a seditionist, QAnon conspiracy theorist, and spreader of disinformation—free airtime on cable news! 

News networks don't need to show his speeches live. They can cover them as news—wait until he's done, show clips within context, offer fact-checking, and stop amplifying his abusive attacks, bigoted insults, QAnon-level conspiracies, and dangerous deceptions. Trump's announcement speech was riddled with lies, which live coverage allowed him to pump directly into people's homes without journalists tethering him to reality. 

News agencies also have a responsibility to add context when they discuss Trump. He isn't a normal candidate; he isn't a media-darling celebrity. As NPR said in the lede to its own report, "Donald Trump, who tried to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election and inspired a deadly riot at the Capitol in a desperate attempt to keep himself in power, has filed to run for president again in 2024."² That is the kind of honest context every news outlet should provide when discussing Trump. 

Trump sought to overturn an election and helped incite a deadly insurrection. We know his words carry weight. You can cover him as news—but don't serve as his personal broadcasting network. Stop covering him live. Fact-check his statements. And don't fall into the trap of giving him free airtime.

We've been down this road before. We should have learned our lessons. 

Click here to add your name to this petition which we will deliver to the head of CNN as well as other media executives and news directors, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks for all you do. 

–Justin, Valeria, Isbah, David, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "$2 Billion Worth of Free Media for Donald Trump," The New York Times, March 15, 2016
https://act.moveon.org/go/169648?t=8&akid=338749%2E53570607%2Eyc0j2Y

2. "Donald Trump who tried to overturn Biden's legitimate election, launches 2024 bid," NPR, November 15, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/169651?t=10&akid=338749%2E53570607%2Eyc0j2Y

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