Media

Left-Wing Hate Watchdogs Silent On Richard Spencer’s CNN Appearance

Tensions High As Alt-Right Activist Richard Spencer Visits U. Florida Campus
Phillip Nieto Contributor
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The SPLC, ADL, RightWingWatch, Media Matters, and HopeNotHate have so far been largely silent on white nationalist Richard Spencer’s CNN appearance.

CNN hosted Spencer in the wake of President Donald Trump tweeting that a progressive group of freshman congresswomen should “go back” where they came from. His appearance on “The Lead with Jake Tapper” was ostensibly an attempt to link Trump’s statements to the most visible white nationalist voice in contemporary media.

Right Wing Watch’s Jared Holt described CNN’s decision to give free air time to the white identitarian as a “miscalculation.” The SPLC, ADL, and HopeNotHate declined to comment and have since then not criticized the television network. (RELATED: CNN Invited A White Nationalist On Air. The Public Didn’t Take It Too Well)

“While we believe putting Spencer on CNN was a miscalculation,” said Holt in a statement to the Caller. “We hope you rest assured that the Daily Caller still holds the throne in platforming white nationalists.” (RELATED: Meet The Man Behind CJR’s Deeply Flawed Hit Job On An Antifa Researcher)

(Holt was recently the subject of a Caller story detailing major ethical and factual problems in a hit piece he wrote on an academic researcher who broke from acceptable media narratives. The piece was subsequently corrected and widely debunked.)

Other progressive voices, such as Carlos Maza of Vox, found it easy to call out the network saying, “CNN invited an open white supremacist on national television today. This isn’t a news network with journalistic ethics. It’s a circus that’s willing to help promote open racists for attention.”

Gay Wonk went even further, adding:

Former CNN producer Steve Krakauer, lambasted his former network by calling for the firing of whoever gave the green light for Spencer to appear on air.


CNN’s full segment with Richard Spencer aired Tuesday on “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” The segment also included quotes from neo-Nazis Andrew Anglin and Patrick Casey. (RELATED: CNN Gives White Nationalist Richard Spencer Airtime To Dissect Trump’s Tweets, And He’s Not A Fan)

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Unlike with CNN, Holt just a few months ago condemned Fox News for “promoting a neo-Nazi.”

Media Matters For America has repeatedly organized boycotts and attacked Fox News.

Former journalists, like Holt, have long advocated for excusing Antifa while using their media influence to portray the group in the best possible light.

During a 2018 interview, Holt appeared standing, arm in arm, alongside Portland’s Antifa chapter. The same chapter was responsible for the assault on gay conservative journalist Andy Ngo back in June.

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Jared Holt standing in solidarity with Portland Antifa during a 2018 rally.

A few weeks prior to Ngo’s assault, he called out Holt for his now debunked piece that was published in the Columbia Journalism Review:

CNN currently remains one of the lowest rated cable news networks in the United States.