CNN caught in media war after Biden - Zelensky call

U.S. president Joe Biden and Ukrainian president
Volodymyr Zelensky spoke by phone on Jan. 27. Both official readouts of the
call point to a discussion over the lethal defensive weapon assistance delivered
by the U.S. They also mentioned macroeconomic assistance and the push toward
resolving issues through the Normandy Format talks.

However, CNN reporter Matthew Chance, reporting from
Kyiv, told anchor Jake Tapper on air that his “high government official” in the
Ukrainian government told him that Biden had told Zelensky that the Russians
were preparing to sack and occupy Kyiv. Furthermore, the U.S. would not be
sending troops to defend Kyiv, nor would “advanced technology weapons” be sent.
Tapper also said that the “high government official” told him that Zelensky had
told Biden to ‘calm down’ about the threat of an invasion and that Ukrainian
intelligence services were still getting mixed information.

The White House has denied the more controversial
elements of Chance’s report. Spokesperson and Senior Director for Press Emily
Horne replied by Twitter that Biden had stated “that there is a distinct
possibility that the Russians could invade Ukraine in February… Reports of
anything more or different than that are completely false.”

Likewise, Zelensky’s press secretary Serhii Nykyforov
issued a statement on Facebook reminding readers that only the “official
releases” provide the correct information. In this case, reports on the content
of the calls are “completely false”.

James Hydzik: It seems
that CNN has gotten caught in at best rumor mongering on the part of someone
Chance thought he could trust a little, or at worst a special operation in the
disinformation war. The call certainly happened, and the contours of the call
can be discerned: arms deliveries, the American embassy operating as normal
despite the departure of family members, diplomatic efforts were discussed.
This gives the kernel for the rumor mill or media war operation.

Also, the possibility that Zelensky asked Biden to not
ring the warning bell so loudly is a probability, given that he’s done so in
December, and his own ham-handed efforts at calming people amid falling ratings comes to
mind. 

However, the sack and occupation of Kyiv has not been
a topic, especially given the emphasis on Russia’s inability, from a manpower
perspective, to hold onto large-scale gains.

Whether this was just rumor mongering or a special operation
is unlikely to ever be sorted out. But Chance, and media outlets such as
Reuters’ Moscow bureau, has a history of wanting to be first or unique as
opposed to right. The Russian government, especially the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, plays upon this, and Reuters in particular was caught repeatedly in
2014 backpedaling after being fed Russian disinformation or heavily slanted
news. Chance’s reporting in 2014 from the Russian side of Donbas points to his
susceptibility in this regard.