CNN on Thursday backed away from a claim that President Obama’s forthcoming trip to Kenya will take him into the heart of a “hotbed of terror,” modifying the headline and lede of a story after enduring an onslaught of criticism on Twitter.
Rallying behind the hashtag #SomeoneTellCNN, Twitter users critical of a CNN report examining possible dangers related to the commander-in-chief’s upcoming jaunt to Kenya demanded an apology and castigated the network for perceived lack of awareness of threats in the region. The story, written by CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr, explains that the U.S. has conducted “half a dozen secret air strikes” in the neighboring country of Somalia in advance of Obama’s visit to blunt potential attacks against Kenyan troops.
But many readers objected to a characterization in the original headline and lede calling Kenya itself a center of terrorist activity. Here’s an earlier version of the post, courtesy The Debating News.
Obama’s trip to Kenya, a terror hotbed
President Barack Obama is not just heading to his father’s homeland, but to a hotbed of terror. Al-Shabaab militants in East Africa are now posing new worries for the President’s trip to Kenya this week.
The updated version omits references to Kenya as a hotbed of terror, referring instead to the general region Obama is traveling to:
Obama’s trip raises security concerns
President Barack Obama is not just heading to his father’s homeland, but to a region that’s a hotbed of terror.
CNN acknowledged the error with a note explaining the switcheroo.
Editor’s Note: The headline and lead of this article has been recast to indicate the terror threat is a regional one.
But the tweets continue to roll in:
.@CNN "should apologise" for "terror hotbed" report: Kenya interior minister. #SomeoneTellCNN http://t.co/W8rz3dIB8P pic.twitter.com/jkrHVW674C
— BBC Africa (@BBCAfrica) July 23, 2015
#SomeoneTellCNN to report on THIS list of 651 black people killed in 2015, US is a terror hotbed for black people >> http://t.co/EZYrvbGe45
— Betty Waitherero (@bettywaitherero) July 23, 2015
#SomeoneTellCNN reaches 120k tweets after Kenya "hotbed of terror" report. #BBCAfricaLive http://t.co/EWI8l7m0fN pic.twitter.com/HhSq5L6FBz
— BBC Africa (@BBCAfrica) July 23, 2015
Unless you are the one bringing the terror,we are a hotbed of investment opportunities & great people #SomeoneTellCNN pic.twitter.com/ewtuSqQ1VX
— Chris Kirubi (@CKirubi) July 23, 2015
