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!

In 2016, major news networks gave Donald Trump $2 billion in free advertising.1 It's clear that they haven't learned the dangers of putting profits and ratings over responsible journalism. Seven years later, they are doing it again. 
 
On Tuesday night, after Trump arrived home to Mar-a-Lago after turning himself in on criminal charges, CNN ran Trump's speech live for 23 minutes of the 24-minute speech.2 The speech, which was supposedly a response to his arraignment, was actually a campaign rally, full of his usual attacks, lies, and bluster. Meanwhile, MSNBC, NPR, and other mainstream media networks refused to air the speech.3,4
 
All news networks have a responsibility to fact-check Trump's lies, provide context and journalistic skepticism to his claims, and apply an editorial lens to when to give him airtime.
 
Add your name to our petition calling on CNN and other national media outlets to STOP giving Trump free airtime! 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! 

When 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 announcement speech live—essentially giving him free rein to dominate airwaves and reach viewers with his narcissistic brand of conspiracy theories and abuse—while ABC, CBS, and NBC all passed on airing the speech live.5

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

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 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.

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=6&akid=349128%2E40999114%2EhKJ23x

2. "CNN chose to air almost the entirety of Trump’s lie-filled Mar-a-Lago rally," Media Matters for America, April 4, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/171904?t=8&akid=349128%2E40999114%2EhKJ23x
 
3. Ibid.
 
4. "NPR refuses to air Trump's speech from Mar-a-Lago live: 'Not what we owe our audience,'" KATU, April 4, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/171916?t=10&akid=349128%2E40999114%2EhKJ23x
 
5. "Broadcast networks take a pass on Trump campaign announcement," The Washington Post, November 15, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/171917?t=12&akid=349128%2E40999114%2EhKJ23x

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