CNN has released a new ad campaign punching back at Trump
- CNN has a new advertising campaign called "Facts First."
- President Donald Trump has singled out CNN, accusing the network of spreading inaccuracies, while presenting little evidence to support his claim.
CNN released a new ad on Monday as part of the network's new #FactsFirst advertising campaign, which many observers saw as a rebuke of President Donald Trump's frequent rhetorical attacks on the network.
"This is an apple," the ad voiceover begins over a photo of an apple. "Some people might try to tell you it's a banana."
It continued: "They might scream 'Banana, banana, banana,' over and over and over again. They might put 'banana' in all caps. You might even start to believe that this is a banana. But it's not. This is an apple."
The ad is a part of CNN's push to emphasize the network's factual reporting, a clear distinction from the opinionated programs that dominate cable news rivals in primetime.
"There's a conversation happening around journalism and media and the First Amendment," CNN's Worldwide's executive vice president and chief marketing officer told Variety.
"It's happening right now. We felt compelled to participate in that conversation with a brand campaign that reminds people who we are and what we do and why we do it."
The earnestness of the ad was quickly mocked online by critics from both sides of the ideological spectrum.
On the left, some critics argued that CNN enabled the spread of incorrect information by hiring Trump supporters like Jeffrey Lord and former Trump communications director Jason Miller. Lord was ousted by the network earlier this year.
Others on the right pointed to instances in which CNN needed to retract stories.
The ad also comes amid Trump's ongoing war with the network, which he frequently appeared on as a celebrity, businessman, and presidential candidate, but now shuns in favor of preferred cable news networks like Fox News.
CNN is the latest news organization to release new self-promotional ads in the Trump era.
In its first television advertisement in seven years, the New York Times in February aired an ad titled "The Truth Is Hard," which aimed to contribute to the "national dialogue going on right now about facts and the truth."