Shame of American journalism: twisted CNN interview with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko blows up Web

2 октября 2021
The published material gathered hundreds of indignant comments. The final material of the American TV channel was not only as short as possible (although an agreement had been made on the format "without cuts"), but it also didn't look like a real full interview, which would have revealed the essence of what was going on. Most of the 7-minute running time was taken up by various videos and author's remarks, full of the usual clichés about Belarus and its President. Yet, Western journalists failed to deceive the public with their pathetic substitution of the hour-long interview. 

In the morning the Agency of TV News posted the full version on its YouTube channel and in the evening it was aired by Belarus 1 and Belarus 24. 

Watch the TV version of President Lukashenko's interview with CNN here

Freedom of speech "the American way"


Sovereignty, the Belarusian way of fighting Covid, unacceptability of Western aggression, double standards and human rights could have been voiced on CNN, but it was not. The miracle did not happen. This is why Alexander Lukashenko stipulated to CNN - the interview must be broadcast "without cuts", being perfectly aware of what exactly the American channel would feed its viewer. 

Instead of a sharp and frank interview of the Belarusian leader in the original, only fragments profitable for the USA and the West were aired, supplemented with the author's speculations about our country. 

Truth in response to fakes and speculations 


This is not the first time an American channel has shown itself in an unattractive light. Take, for example, one of the notorious fake stories about an alleged camp for political prisoners near Minsk. Yet, viewers seem to have already got used to this policy of the channel. The trust in CNN is rapidly sinking, just like in the current US leadership. 

Why did an American journalist come to Minsk? Such a plot could be made, as they say, on the spot. The reason of such behavior is that CNN has come to believe in its exclusivity. That's how Maria Zakharova, spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, commented on the interview last night. 

Former leader Donald Trump reproached CNN for its mastery of producing convenient material based on fake news. Now you can see why Matthew Chance was so worried during the taping, probably realizing that there would be essentially nothing left for the answers comfortable to the West. 

Foreign Ministry spokesman told our colleagues how interviews with the Belarusian leader are organized. It wasn't easy to do - the problem is the President's busy schedule. By the way, there are about 10 media outlets waiting for such an opportunity, from the Arab Emirates to the United States.

The expert community is unanimous in its opinion: the journalist came to the conversation with an obvious task: to provoke the Belarusian leader. It didn't work.  

Eight hours after the TV broadcast, CNN posted the interview video on its site (in Russian, though). These are the high standards of American journalism!  The English transcript is included, thank you very much, as they. The full version of the interview is available at ATN's YouTube channel.