US President Donald Trump has sparked controversy after alleging that a report aired by CNN was sourced from a “fake news site from Nigeria,” while disputing Iran’s claim of victory following a ceasefire agreement.
Trump made the claim in a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, shortly after announcing a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran.
Reacting to a statement attributed to Iran, he said, “The alleged statement put out by CNN World News is a fraud, as CNN well knows.”
He added, “The false statement was linked to a Fake News site (from Nigeria) and, of course, immediately picked up by CNN, and blared out as a ‘legitimate’ headline.”
Trump further insisted that the version circulated by CNN did not reflect Iran’s official position, stating, “The Official Statement by Iran was just released, and posted on TRUTH, below.”
In a follow-up post, the US president stepped up his criticism, stating, “No one can accept that Fake News CNN issued a knowingly false and dangerous statement claiming to come from the highest levels of the Iranian government. It did not! It was completely made up and placed as a headline with the intention of potentially inflaming a delicate issue.”
He further claimed that the information came from “a new, trouble-making site from Nigeria,” and that “CNN just got caught cheating—a very dangerous thing to do.”
The disputed statement, apparently published by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, stated that Tehran had achieved a “historic and crushing defeat” against the US, forcing Washington to accept portions of its proposed discussion framework.
However, Trump denied the claim, claiming that the official Iranian position did not back such assertions and demanding that CNN retract the article and apologize.
He said, “Authorities are looking to determine whether or not a crime was committed on the issuance of the Fake CNN World Statement, or was it a sick rogue player.”
Trump added, “CNN is being ordered to immediately withdraw this statement with full apologies for their, as usual, terrible ‘reporting.’ Results of the investigation will be announced in the near future.”
The inclusion of Nigeria has sparked local interest, however Trump has not provided evidence to back up his assertion that the information originated on a Nigerian-based site.
Brendan Carr, Chairman of the United States Federal Communications Commission, defended the president and criticized the network’s handling of the report.
The inclusion of Nigeria has sparked local interest, however Trump has not provided evidence to back up his assertion that the information originated on a Nigerian-based site.
Brendan Carr, Chairman of the United States Federal Communications Commission, defended the president and criticized the network’s handling of the report.
Carr said, “Fake news is bad enough for the country, but pushing out a hoax headline in such a sensitive national security moment as this requires accountability.”
CNN, on the other hand, refused to recant its assertion and stayed solid in its reporting.
A representative for the network stated that the claim was based on information gathered directly from Iranian officials and confirmed by numerous Iranian state media channels.
The spokesperson stated, “We received the statement from specific official Iranian spokespeople who are known to us,” adding that versions of the same statement were widely circulated in both English and Farsi across Iranian state platforms.
CNN stated that its reporting represented what Iranian authorities communicated at the time, emphasizing that the network relied on vetted sources and conventional journalistic methods to publish the story.
The announcement comes amid global reactions to the US-Iran cease-fire agreement, which was negotiated soon before Trump’s deadline for probable military action.
While both Washington and Tehran claim success in the fight, the truce has been widely regarded as a step toward de-escalation, particularly given the Strait of Hormuz’s strategic importance to world petroleum supply.
Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s Foreign Minister, said that the agreement included a two-week promise of safe transit via the strait.
