Latest news with #MisinfoNation
The Journal
27-07-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
CNN's Donie on America's view of Ireland (and how it can sometimes help him get MAGA on side)
IRISH CNN CORRESPONDENT Donie O'Sullivan is no stranger to an internet conspiracy theory. Since being caught in the middle of the events of 6 January 2021 in Washington DC, the Co Kerry man has reported on online rabbit holes, seeking to understand how conservative Americans feel about their country. 'Obviously, a lot has happened since then,' he said. '[But] we're still in the same place in America, you know. There's still a lot of people, even Trump, still talking about the 2020 election.' A year on from the Capitol attack, Americans don't have a shared understanding of what happened that day. We spoke to some people who are in deep denial. Produced by @jmoorheadcnn @McKennaEwen — Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) January 4, 2022 O'Sullivan spoke to The Journal on Zoom from his family home's couch in Cahersiveen with the dog, Sunny. He was home to speak to students about CNN's journalism academy at University College Dublin's campus, his old stomping ground. Day-to-day, O'Sullivan is typically exploring how American voters interact with disinformation. It is the topic of his new three-part podcast, called Persuadable. In it, he speaks to people who were once trapped in a world of falsehood, and touches on his own dealings with depression and anxiety as a way to examine how someone's frame of mind can impact their outlook. He said that people do not have to have a mental health diagnosis to believe in conspiracy theories, but believed the mental health aspect of the podcast was 'a way to unlock my empathy'. 'In Ireland and the US, more and more families are dealing with people in their life, a loved one, who is going down these rabbit holes. I was trying to get into this frame of mind.' He said that disinformation can sometimes answer all of life's problems – particularly for those who are going through a tough period. 'You can see that happening in some ways in the US at the moment,' he said. 'There obviously is an immigration problem in the US, but the way that immigrants are being blamed for every ill of society is irrational.' Empathy O'Sullivan makes a living speaking to people who could be described as conspiracy theorists. He recognises that he is, sometimes, meeting his interviewees at a low point in their lives. MisinfoNation -- Sunday, 8p ET @CNN @CNNOriginals @CNNPR — Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) April 9, 2025 It takes a high level of empathy to listen attentively to extreme views from people . O'Sullivan explained that he approaches each engagement differently in that context. Advertisement 'The one thing is to treat everybody we talk to with respect. It's really a fine line, because a lot of the people I meet have a grievance. 'A lot of times, something genuinely tough is happening in their life. Their town is changing, or the local factory shut down and they've lost a job. Bad stuff is happening. 'But then they are embracing ideas that, for them, they can say: 'Okay, this explains why. This is where I can channel my frustration'. That can sometimes manifest in things that are racist, homophobic, et cetera.' Unlike other US reporters, O'Sullivan works without the stress of daily deadlines. This allows him to connect with and select his interviewees more rigorously. 'Being Irish helps, for sure' What about being Irish? 'It helps, for sure,' he said, but explained that a lot of conservative Americans are surprised to see a 'short, fat Irish guy with a CNN microphone'. 'I actually realised more, over time, that a lot of the surprise comes less from, 'Oh, there's a boy from Cahersiveen in the middle of Alabama', and more that it's about my identity. 'In Ireland, I think we believe that Americans associate Ireland with the Kennedys and with Biden and with, basically, Democrats. 'Whereas, actually, a lot of Americans associate Ireland with Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity and conservatism – and a particular type of conservative Catholicism.' He added: 'What I found was a lot of Trump supporters have been surprised [by me], because they associate Ireland with conservatism and CNN with liberalism.' This conflation can also happen with Americans on the issue of Palestine. The US ambassador to Israel recently questioned whether Ireland had fallen into a vat of Guinness over proposals to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements. Meanwhile, pro-Palestine activists here say Ireland's solidarity with the people of Gaza and the West Bank is connected deeper to history and culture. O'Sullivan said he is often asked about Ireland's stance by others in the US, but said it relates to the views Americans expect Irish people to have. He said: 'When I go to Trump rallies, people say, 'Oh, aren't you a great Irish guy? You probably say ten decades of the rosary, and you're a conservative, and somehow they let you in CNN.' He added: 'But I also went to quite a few events for CNN last year, covering pro-Palestine demonstrations in the US, including at the Democratic National Convention, and I met a lot of people that without even asking said 'Oh, well, you're Irish, and we know the Irish people are with this cause.' 'It's quite interesting to see how people will automatically assume your views on something. People try and make this connection because people want to connect and have some sort of affinity, even if they say that they hate the mainstream media,' O'Sullivan added. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Taylor Lorenz Walks Back, Then Doubles Down on Luigi Mangione Support After Viral CNN Spot
Taylor Lorenz has, once again, gone viral for something she said. This time it was a comment she made in an episode of CNN's 'MisinfoNation' on Sunday in which she said supporters of Luigi Mangione — who is accused of gunning down United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Dec. — view him as a 'morally good man.' That comment, shared in a teaser clip by CNN's Donie O'Sullivan, the show's host, was ripped by many on X. Sen. Ted Cruz called Lorenz a 'communist' who 'is openly celebrating murder,' while The Daily Wire's Matt Walsh said she is a 'psychotic wench.' Walsh also ripped O'Sullivan for sitting and laughing at Lorenz's comment, adding it was 'just an utterly depraved display all around.' O'Sullivan joked in the clip that 'I just realized women will literally date an assassin before they swipe right on me,' before asking Lorenz if the mainstream media does not understand support for Mangione in the same way it does not understand support for President Trump. On Monday, TheWrap reached out to Lorenz to ask if she viewed Mangione as a 'morally good man.' 'No, do you think I'm showing up [to support him at trial]?' Lorenz responded. A moment earlier, Lorenz said it should have been clear that she was discussing the view of Mangione's fans, not her own opinion. 'I'm talking about his supporters, which is what that segment is about. It's about these women that are waiting outside the courthouse and showing up outside his prison and stuff like that, and sort of how they view him and why they view him [as a hero],' Lorenz said. 'And Donie didn't use this second part, but I've made it very clear that I think they're in for rude awakening once he starts talking. I don't think he's as radical as they believe him to be.' Later in the conversation, when pressed if it would be fair to say in a headline that she does not view Mangione as a morally good man, Lorenz said: 'I think that probably Luigi, like everyone else on this earth, could do things that are morally great and do things that are morally wrong. I think that we as a society need to figure out what, where the moral line is drawn. And I think to a lot of people — and this is what I said from the from the beginning — no, I don't think people should be shot dead in the streets, period. Okay.' Lorenz then said the bigger issue the country needs to grapple with is the healthcare system, not renegade shooters who are a byproduct of the anger millions of Americans feel. 'What I will say is that I don't believe that our health care system is morally good. I believe that our health care system is morally bankrupt and wrong and murderous,' Lorenz said. 'And when we have these conversations and we talk about whether Luigi is morally … what is moral or not, why? Why are the headlines about Luigi and not the headlines about the health care system? What you can put in a headline is that I believe our healthcare system is evil and morally bankrupt.' Lorenz added the healthcare system is one of many 'violent systems' in the U.S. and that, until those are fixed in a nonviolent way, the establishment will only respond to violent acts like the shooting of Thompson. 'We have a lot of violent systems in America. Our immigration system is violent. Our prison system is violent, our healthcare system is violent,' Lorenz said. 'And until people feel seen and heard and have that violence recognized by people in power in the media, they're going to feel unheard, and they're going to see that the only language that people in power seem to speak is violence.' Lorenz is a former technology reporter for The New York Times and Washington Post, which she left last year to start her own publication, dubbed 'User,' on Substack. In her conversation with TheWrap, she said that, while she does not believe assassinations are the answer to fixing the 'violent systems' she disagrees with, she would not lose sleep over future shootings, either. 'I think Joe Biden is a genocidal war criminal, okay? If he dies, I'm not going to cry about it,' Lorenz said. 'Does that mean that I think that somebody should go shoot him, gun him down in the street? That's not something I would advocate for.' The post Taylor Lorenz Walks Back, Then Doubles Down on Luigi Mangione Support After Viral CNN Spot appeared first on TheWrap.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Taylor Lorenz's 'heinous' defense of Luigi Mangione as a 'morally good man' disgusts X users
Ex-Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz continued her defense of alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO murderer Luigi Mangione in what many viewed as a "beyond vile" segment on CNN Sunday. Lorenz spoke to "MisinfoNation" host Donie O'Sullivan about Mangione's appeal to people, particularly for women. Mangione became something of a folk hero to the far-left after he was arrested for the murder of Brian Thompson, with some viewing it as a comeuppance for the greedy insurance industry. "Here's this man who's a revolutionary, who's famous, who's handsome, who's young, who's smart, he's a person who seems like he's this morally good man, which is hard to find," Lorenz teased in a snippet that was shared on X. Ex-wapo Reporter Doubles Down On Post Wanting Health Insurance Executives Dead: 'It's Natural To Wish' O'Sullivan jokingly added, "Yeah, I just realized women will literally date an assassin before they swipe right on me. That's where we're at." Lorenz, an independent journalist and former Washington Post reporter known for her numerous online controversies, was among those who appeared to sympathize with Thompson's assailant last year. At one point, she posted, "People wonder why we want these executives dead," in response to news about Blue Cross Blue Shield no longer covering anesthesia for the full length of some surgeries. Read On The Fox News App Many social media users were disgusted with the segment featuring Lorenz and O'Sullivan laughing, with most calling out CNN for airing a "heinous" defense of people who admire Mangione. "CNN is now celebrating a fiery but mostly peaceful assassination of a husband and father," conservative commentator Steve Guest wrote. RedState writer Bonchie remarked, "This is a doughy CNN correspondent nodding approvingly while a psychopath asserts it's fine to support cold-blooded murder for political reasons. This is CNN." "The only thing more embarrassing than being Taylor Lorenz is citing her as an authority in your show about *misinformation*. Yikes, mate," Mediaite editor Isaac Schorr commented. "This is beyond vile. Utterly heinous," White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller wrote. "CNN is happy to call any opinions they don't like harmful and dangerous and now they're doing a interview with Taylor Lorenz who openly fawns over Luigi Mangione and calls him moral. Amazing what protection having the right political ideology buys," OutKick writer Ian Miller commented. The Spectator contributing editor Stephen Miller wrote, "I think we're done here on your lectures of extremism as you sit there dodo eyed while she calls a literal assassin a moral guy." "Disgusting," actor Dean Cain declared. Fox News Digital reached out to CNN for comment. During the clip, Lorenz also called out the mainstream media for "clutching their pearls" and pushing an out-of-touch "narrative." "It's hilarious to see these millionaire media pundits on TV clutching their pearls about someone stanning a murderer when this is the United States of America, as if we don't lionize criminals," Lorenz said. "As if we don't stan murderers of all sorts. And we give them Netflix shows. There's a huge disconnect between the narratives and angles a certain mainstream media pushes and what the American public feels, and you see that in moments like this." Lorenz also touted getting an audience boost for her Substack publication User Mag due to her sympathetic writings about Mangione. She added, "I can tell you I saw the biggest audience growth that I've ever seen [was] because people were like, 'oh, somebody, some journalist is actually speaking the anger I feel.'" Reached for comment, Lorenz claimed she was actually concerned about the growth of the "Free Luigi" movement and violent online rhetoric. "I do think it's really concerning that more people are essentially participating in these movements, but also just like casually comfortable with really violent kind of rhetoric. And obviously, our system is in normal, healthy democracies, you don't generally see people talking, sort of celebrating this kind of violence," Lorenz told Fox News Digital. She added, "This Luigi movement is sort of indicative of some of that cynicism where you're seeing people that are just really angry and upset with the system." Taylor Lorenz's Sympathy With Suspected Unitedhealthcare Ceo Killer Raises Eyebrows Lorenz has been called out for appearing to excuse and even romanticize Mangione's actions since Thompson was killed, however. Only a few hours after the murder was reported, Lorenz wrote a post suggesting other healthcare executives should be targeted. When discussing her post on Piers Morgan's show days later, Lorenz again went viral after saying she felt "joy" after Thompson's death. "I do believe in the sanctity of life and I think that's why I felt, along with so many other Americans, joy, unfortunately," Lorenz told Morgan. "Maybe not joy but certainly not empathy." "How could this make you joyful?" Morgan asked. "This guy is a husband, he's a father, and he's been gunned down in the middle of Manhattan. Why does that make you joyful?" Lorenz later claimed that she was being mischaracterized in the media and meant that she found joy in elite pundits being forced to confront the "barbaric nature of our healthcare system."Original article source: Taylor Lorenz's 'heinous' defense of Luigi Mangione as a 'morally good man' disgusts X users
Fox News
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Taylor Lorenz's 'heinous' defense of Luigi Mangione as a 'morally good man' disgusts X users
Ex-Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz continued her defense of alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO murderer Luigi Mangione in what many viewed as a "beyond vile" segment on CNN Sunday. Lorenz spoke to "MisinfoNation" host Donie O'Sullivan about Mangione's appeal to people, particularly for women. Mangione became something of a folk hero to the far-left after he was arrested for the murder of Brian Thompson, with some viewing it as a comeuppance for the greedy insurance industry. "Here's this man who's a revolutionary, who's famous, who's handsome, who's young, who's smart, he's a person who seems like he's this morally good man, which is hard to find," Lorenz teased in a snippet that was shared on X. O'Sullivan jokingly added, "Yeah, I just realized women will literally date an assassin before they swipe right on me. That's where we're at." Lorenz, an independent journalist and former Washington Post reporter known for her numerous online controversies, was among those who appeared to sympathize with Thompson's assailant last year. At one point, she posted, "People wonder why we want these executives dead," in response to news about Blue Cross Blue Shield no longer covering anesthesia for the full length of some surgeries. Many social media users were disgusted with the segment featuring Lorenz and O'Sullivan laughing, with most calling out CNN for airing a "heinous" defense of people who admire Mangione. "CNN is now celebrating a fiery but mostly peaceful assassination of a husband and father," conservative commentator Steve Guest wrote. RedState writer Bonchie remarked, "This is a doughy CNN correspondent nodding approvingly while a psychopath asserts it's fine to support cold-blooded murder for political reasons. This is CNN." "The only thing more embarrassing than being Taylor Lorenz is citing her as an authority in your show about *misinformation*. Yikes, mate," Mediaite editor Isaac Schorr commented. "This is beyond vile. Utterly heinous," White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller wrote. "CNN is happy to call any opinions they don't like harmful and dangerous and now they're doing a interview with Taylor Lorenz who openly fawns over Luigi Mangione and calls him moral. Amazing what protection having the right political ideology buys," OutKick writer Ian Miller commented. The Spectator contributing editor Stephen Miller wrote, "I think we're done here on your lectures of extremism as you sit there dodo eyed while she calls a literal assassin a moral guy." "Disgusting," actor Dean Cain declared. Fox News Digital reached out to CNN for comment. During the clip, Lorenz also called out the mainstream media for "clutching their pearls" and pushing an out-of-touch "narrative." "It's hilarious to see these millionaire media pundits on TV clutching their pearls about someone stanning a murderer when this is the United States of America, as if we don't lionize criminals," Lorenz said. "As if we don't stan murderers of all sorts. And we give them Netflix shows. There's a huge disconnect between the narratives and angles a certain mainstream media pushes and what the American public feels, and you see that in moments like this." Lorenz also touted getting an audience boost for her Substack publication User Mag due to her sympathetic writings about Mangione. She added, "I can tell you I saw the biggest audience growth that I've ever seen [was] because people were like, 'oh, somebody, some journalist is actually speaking the anger I feel.'" Reached for comment, Lorenz claimed she was actually concerned about the growth of the "Free Luigi" movement and violent online rhetoric. "I do think it's really concerning that more people are essentially participating in these movements, but also just like casually comfortable with really violent kind of rhetoric. And obviously, our system is in normal, healthy democracies, you don't generally see people talking, sort of celebrating this kind of violence," Lorenz told Fox News Digital. She added, "This Luigi movement is sort of indicative of some of that cynicism where you're seeing people that are just really angry and upset with the system." Lorenz has been called out for appearing to excuse and even romanticize Mangione's actions since Thompson was killed, however. Only a few hours after the murder was reported, Lorenz wrote a post suggesting other healthcare executives should be targeted. When discussing her post on Piers Morgan's show days later, Lorenz again went viral after saying she felt "joy" after Thompson's death. "I do believe in the sanctity of life and I think that's why I felt, along with so many other Americans, joy, unfortunately," Lorenz told Morgan. "Maybe not joy but certainly not empathy." "How could this make you joyful?" Morgan asked. "This guy is a husband, he's a father, and he's been gunned down in the middle of Manhattan. Why does that make you joyful?" Lorenz later claimed that she was being mischaracterized in the media and meant that she found joy in elite pundits being forced to confront the "barbaric nature of our healthcare system."
