U.S. President Donald J. Trump has accused CNN of publishing what he described as a “false and dangerous” statement allegedly attributed to senior officials in Iran, claiming the report originated from a fake news website based in Nigeria.
In a strongly worded post on Truth Social, Trump criticized the network, alleging that the report could inflame an already sensitive geopolitical situation.
“No one can believe that Fake News CNN put out a knowingly false and dangerous statement pretending it came from the upper levels of the Iranian Government. It didn’t! It was totally made up and posted, as a headline, for purpose of, perhaps, inflaming a very delicate situation. It was a new, trouble making site from Nigeria, and CNN just got caught cheating – A very dangerous thing to do!” Trump wrote.
The former president further described the alleged report as fraudulent and accused CNN of amplifying unverified content.
“The alleged Statement put out by CNN World News is a FRAUD, as CNN well knows. 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 added.
Trump also claimed that Iran had issued an official statement contradicting the reported claims, noting that it had been shared on his Truth Social platform.
“The Official Statement by Iran was just released, and posted on TRUTH, below,” he stated.
The former president said authorities were examining the matter to determine whether any wrongdoing occurred in the publication of the alleged report.
“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 wrote.
He also called on the network to retract the report and issue a formal apology.
“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,” Trump concluded.
CNN had not publicly responded to the claims at the time of filing this report.
The development comes amid heightened global tensions and growing concerns about misinformation and the role of digital platforms in shaping public discourse, particularly during sensitive geopolitical situations.