By CNN found itself at the center of controversy after an on-air graphic mistakenly referred to Osama bin Laden as “Obama Bin Laden” during a live broadcast on Friday night. The high-profile error, which aired on CNN News Central, immediately triggered a wave of reactions across social media, where users mocked the network for the glaring mistake and questioned its editorial oversight.
The erroneous graphic appeared as anchor Boris Sanchez covered the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, a senior Al-Qaeda operative currently detained at Guantanamo Bay. While Sanchez himself did not confuse former President Barack Obama with the deceased terrorist leader, he momentarily stumbled over Zubaydah’s name during the segment. The real controversy, however, stemmed from the chyron at the bottom of the screen, which prominently displayed the incorrect text. The mistake quickly caught viewers’ attention, leading to widespread online backlash, according to multiple reports.
CNN confuses Obama with Osama Bin Laden…
Look at their on screen graphic. 😳😳😳
Wow…. 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/58jwtq4Wfq
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) February 8, 2025
The Daily Caller noted that social media users wasted no time ridiculing the blunder. One viewer sarcastically commented, “Yesterday CNN was talking about Big Balls. Today it’s Obama Bin Laden. Outstanding journalism!” Others went further, calling it the “Freudian slip of the century” and accusing CNN of serving as a “propaganda machine.” Some critics even suggested that the error was deliberate, with one commenter asserting, “That was not a misprint. Shame on whoever allowed that to go on air.” The incident added fuel to long-standing accusations of bias and credibility issues surrounding the network.
The controversy erupted at a particularly challenging time for CNN, which has been grappling with significant declines in viewership. Since the 2024 presidential election, the network’s primetime audience has plummeted by 45 percent, dropping to an average of 394,000 viewers by December 2024, according to The Washington Post. This figure represents a dramatic shift from CNN’s peak in 2020, when its election coverage drew an average of 1.8 million viewers per night.
In addition to declining ratings, the network is undergoing major structural changes. Recently, CNN announced layoffs affecting roughly 200 employees, part of a broader cost-cutting initiative spearheaded by CEO Mark Thompson. Furthermore, longtime journalist Jim Acosta, known for his contentious exchanges with former President Donald Trump, departed the network in late January after reportedly declining a reassignment to a different time slot.
In December, the news channel was caught faking a news story in Syria, as well. That same month, CNN was slapped with a lawsuit from Navy veteran Zachary Young asking for punitive damages in his defamation lawsuit against the network and anchor Jake Tapper.
At the heart of the case was a November 2021 segment on The Lead with Jake Tapper, which had accused private operators—including Young—of profiting from Afghan evacuees by charging exorbitant fees. Young contended that these allegations were false and had inflicted serious harm on his reputation and livelihood. A few weeks ago, the court ruled in Young’s favor, awarding him $5 million in damages.
As of now, CNN has not issued an official statement addressing the mistake.
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