Steven Cheung, a communications advisor for President Donald Trump’s White House, sparked a heated conversation about transparency in the mainstream media with a post on X Monday. In the post, Cheung slammed CNN for featuring a guest without disclosing the individual’s background, including her political affiliations and past criticisms of the president.
Many Americans believe that transparency is a critical component of journalism, as it maintains public trust. When news outlets bring on feature commentators for analysis, these individuals believe it’s essential for the viewing audience to know their biases and affiliations.
This helps viewers understand what could be influencing the guest’s point of view. Part of the media’s purpose is to allow the audience room to assess information they are presented with for themselves, and this, those who agree with Cheung say, is important for understanding the context behind opinions delivered on air.
This isn’t the first time CNN has faced similar criticisms. In 2022, the outlet featured Susan Fisher, who presented herself on-air as a Republican, to chat about her support for Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto from Nevada. However, the network failed to reveal that she has a history of supporting Democratic candidates and causes.
Another example comes from CNN political commentator Van Jones. In 2020, Jones gave President Trump praise for an executive order on police reform. He failed to mention that he had some behind-the-scenes involvement with the crafting of the policy.
The omission resulted in critiques concerning potential conflicts of interest and the need for media companies like CNN, which have large viewing audiences, to be fully transparent.
Critics have been making the case that undisclosed affiliations or past statements can, and often do, mislead viewers. This is especially the case when an analyst presents themselves as being neutral. These same experts feel outlets need to take greater precautions and put measures in place to ensure the backgrounds and potential biases of on-air guests are made known to the audience.
This, they say, will provide the information necessary for viewers to be more informed and discerning.
Not everyone agrees with Cheung, however. One of the responses on his X post accused him of suffering from “CNN derangement syndrome,” an attempt at twisting around the conservative phrase “Trump Derangement Syndrome” to describe a person seemingly obsessed with expressing negative opinions about the president.
Adrianna McIntyre, the guest in question, responded to the post by saying, “Hi Steven! Just want to leave this here for your followers who are curious about how the reconciliation bill might affect low-income and disabled people on Medicare,” completely ignoring Cheung’s actual concern.
