No audience change announced for CNN town halls after Trump event | Fact check

The claim: CNN announced it will no longer have live audiences at town hall events

A May 12 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) claims a major cable news network is changing one of its regular prime-time events.

“CNN announces today there will be no more live audiences at town halls,” reads the post. “The (orange) Man broke CNN.”

The post was shared more than 500 times in one week.

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Our rating: False

CNN made no such announcement on its website or social media pages, and the network said the claim is false.

CNN faced criticism after Trump town hall, but executives stood by event

There is no mention of such a change on CNN’s website or any of its social media pages. CNN spokesperson Sydney Baldwin told USA TODAY the claim was false.

“This is completely fabricated,” Baldwin said.

The claim came as CNN faced backlash after hosting a prime-time town hall event with former President Donald Trump on May 10. During the event, Trump repeatedly made false claims about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, denied E. Jean Carroll's claims one day after he was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming her and expressed no regrets about the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, as reported by USA TODAY.

Fact check: Image altered to show CNN headline about climate change

The live audience supported Trump, at times laughing and applauding in response to his statements throughout the 70-minute event.

Network leaders lauded the event and have not given any indication changes are coming to its format. Prior to the town hall, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav defended the format in a May 5 interview. Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of CNN.

“We have divided government,” Zaslav said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “We need to hear both voices. Republicans are on air on CNN, and Democrats are on air on CNN. All voices should be heard on CNN.”

In an editorial meeting the day after the event, CNN CEO Chris Licht also stood by the town hall and said the audience reflected the attitudes of a significant proportion of the American population, as reported by The New York Times and Poynter. Though he was aware of the criticism, the outlets reported he told employees, “I absolutely, unequivocally believe America was served very well by what we did last night."

USA TODAY has debunked an array of claims about CNN, including claims that the network tweeted about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's "mass migration" plans, attributed Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest to the COVID-19 vaccine and published a story reporting Trump's death.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

• Sydney Baldwin, May 16, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• CNN, accessed May 16, Facebook search

• CNN, accessed May 16, Instagram search

• CNN, accessed May 16, Press Releases & Announcements

• CNN, accessed May 16, Twitter search

• Poynter, May 12, Day-after reviews of Trump town hall get even worse for CNN

• New York Times, May 11, CNN Chairman Defends Decision to Host Trump Town Hall

• CNBC, May 5, Trump town hall will test CNN CEO Chris Licht’s disinformation rule

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim CNN changing town halls after Trump event | Fact check