OPINION
Premium

CNN Has Been Having a Horrendous Time of It Since the Iran Bombing Mission As It Detonates Credibility

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Jun 25, 2025
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

Get access to Brad Slager's "Riffed From the Headlines," a daily VIP feature where he looks to bring accountability to the mainstream media. Use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!

Artisanally-crafted Narratives – CNN

  • Relying on the exact same playbook that has delivered the exact same falsehoods in the past.

The current narrative weaving throughout the media is that the Iran bombing mission has not delivered the results that the Trump administration has claimed. While the president has declared that Iran’s nuclear efforts have been obliterated, we are getting reports that the opposite is actually the case. Word has it that inside sources detail that there was not the level of success as claimed and that Iran was only stalled by a few months as a result of the strikes on its program.

This has since been countered by reports from the IAEC, from reports inside Iran, and the International Atomic Energy Agency that significant damage took place.

This discrepancy is not surprising, given CNN's report arrives via Natasha Bertrand, who has proven over the years to be a mynah bird for those in the intel community wanting to push anti-Trump messaging. Bertrand was an early proponent of the Steele Dossier, was a frequent source for false Russian collusion narratives, as well as pushing the claim the Hunter Biden laptop was a false story, as well as loudly pimping that fraudulent letter from 51 intel officials boasting the laptop story was a Russian disinformation campaign.

Recommended

Kari Lake Just Cooked This Dem Rep Who Tried to Come After Her Role in the Trump Administration Matt Vespa
The Democrat Theater Kids Are Playing to an Empty House Kurt Schlichter

In other words, we will need a better source for anything that this reporter delivers about…anything.

Matching Media Memorandum – VARIOUS OUTLETS

  • We have seen this play run more than a rookie quarterback throwing a one-yard check-down pass.

It seems apparent that Bertrand was bothered by people calling her out over her past sketchy-at-best reports. She has listed out a number of other outlets who have since come out with similar stories allegedly backing her up. As we have seen in the past, these are cases of the outlets relying upon the same nameless sourcing in order to “independently confirm” a story.

We saw this play out a number of times in the past, such as with the Steele Dossier, Russian collusion stories, “debunking” Hunter Biden’s laptop, pushing the intel letter from 51 officials calling it a Russian fraud, and numerous other instances.

Prose & Contradiction – CNN

  • A “mostly peaceful genocide” is just around the corner!

As the press continues to spin themselves into a rabbit hole of default opposition to Trump’s Iran mission, they also continue to expose themselves with completely impacted hot takes. Possibly taking high honors to this point is Erin Burnett.

She was on with Dana Bash to discuss the matter and she recalled her experience reporting from Iran, and frankly these are not the enemies as portrayed by the White House. 

Okay, sure – maybe they were calling to wipe us off the globe, but they did so in an ebullient and endearing fashion! Yes…Erin actually sells this concept of a warm-hearted pledge to eliminate us as a nation:

“I remember at one point being in Tehran, years ago, and they’re chanting ‘Death To America’ all around me…and they were happy to speak to me. So those are two jarring realities – of the chant and yet the friendliness have existed together.”

Presentation Paradox – CNN

  • Not just debunked quickly, but by her own network!

At CNN on Sunday, in the wake of the Iran bombing mission, Auzinea Bacon reported on the effects that the attack would have on oil markets. We say “reported,” when in fact the entire piece was speculation. Relying once again on “experts,” we were told by Ms. Bacon that oil was promised to surge as a result of Trump’s actions:

The American economy faces the unwelcome prospect of reignited inflation after the United States launched strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.High oil and gas prices are a near certainty, experts say. The big question now: How long will the fossil fuels price spike last? Oil prices are expected to rise by about $5 per barrel when markets open Sunday night, according to experts. “We are looking at $80 oil on the open,” said Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates. US oil hasn’t closed above $80 a barrel since January and has largely hovered between $60 and $75 a barrel since August 2024.

And then reality arrived. All of Ms. Bacon’s promised hardships never materialized, and in fact all of the trends went in the opposite direction. Oil plunged, the stock market rose, and the bankability of Auzinea’s expert’s shriveled, according to her co-workers on Tuesday:

Oil prices fell sharply Tuesday, returning to levels last seen before the Iran-Israel conflict. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 6.1% to $67.14 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude, the US oil benchmark, fell 6% to $64.37 a barrel. US stocks closed in the green. The Dow closed higher by 507 points, or 1.19%. The S&P 500 gained 1.11%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.43%. The S&P 500 was less than 1% away from an all-time high. The Nasdaq was 1.3% away from an all-time high.

Reporting on the Mirror – CNN

  • Is this really a mystery, Brian?

In the days after the Saturday mission in Iran, CNN’s media maven Brian Stelter has noticed something peculiar.

A top-secret mission with classified plans carried out by stealth bombers – and Brian is dismayed why the intel has not been shared with the same press corps currently slandering the mission and leaking classified intel.