CNN’s Clarissa Ward Attacked By Right Wing Twitter Over Out of Context Taliban Quote

Ken MeyerAug 16th, 2021, 2:59 pm
 

CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward has come under attack by conservatives who have taken her reporting out of context and tried to falsely portray her as sympathetic to the Taliban.

As the Taliban cements their control over Afghanistan, Ward donned a hijab on Monday as she rode through Kabul, spoke to members of the Taliban, and reported on the chaos and panic throughout the nation’s capital. During her report, Ward spoke about Afghan citizens posing for pictures with Taliban fighters, and she said “They’re just chanting ‘Death to America,’ but they seem friendly at the same time. It’s utterly bizarre.”

This quote quickly gained attention among conservative corners of the Twitterverse, and people swiftly jumped on that to slam Ward and CNN as a whole.

Let’s break this down.

First of all, as a woman, a journalist, and an American, Ward is probably among the most at-risk people in Kabul right now, and it’s highly unlikely she has any delusions about her precarious situation.

Second, let’s look at the full context of her comments:

This is a sight I honestly thought I would never see, scores of Taliban fighters, and just behind us, the U.S. Embassy compound. Some carry American weapons. They tell us they’re here to maintain law and order. ‘Everything is under control. Everything will be fine,’ the commander says. ‘Nobody should worry.’ ‘What’s your message to America right now?’ ‘America already spent enough time in Afghanistan. They need to leave,’ he tells us. ‘They already lost lots of lives and lots of money.’ People come up to them to pose for photographs. They’re just chanting death to America, but they seem friendly at the same time. It’s utterly bizarre.

This transcript makes clear that Ward was making an observational comment acknowledging how the Taliban’s conduct contradicts their current non-threatening facade.

Thirdly, Ward’s report immediately proceeds to describe the hostility she received from Taliban fighters for being a woman. This was the overriding theme of her report — as she invoked Afghan women who fear they will be killed or subjugated under the Taliban’s new regime.

As such, plenty of people have rushed to Ward’s defense by pointing out the context of her comments, and praising her for continuing her work in spite of the danger.

CNN’s PR team also blasted Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) over his jab:

Ward has not addressed the distortion of her comments yet, but she has gotten on Twitter to pan the “inaccurate” memes about her wearing a hijab during her reports on the street.

Watch above, via CNN.

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