A new report from CNN that ties the origins of the coronavirus pandemic to China appears to have come too late, or as some critics have said, "10 months" late.
CNN broke news on Monday afternoon of a "trove" of leaked documents from inside China that showed that it had published "misleading" data on coronavirus cases and deaths in the province of Hubei, where Wuhan is located, back in February and additionally hid a huge "spike" in flu-like cases in December 2019.
"These documents, a rare, clear, and open window into what China knew all along, trying to appear in control while a local outbreak turned into a global pandemic," CNN international security editor Nick Paton Walsh concluded in his on-air report.
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While President Trump has long accused China of "allowing" the coronavirus that originated within its borders to be released to the rest of the world, much of the mainstream media has largely ignored the origins of the disease, with some even characterizing the president's attacks as xenophobic.
Critics mocked the outlet for acknowledging what was commonly known.
"CNN FINALLY REALIZES CHINA LIED 10 MONTHS LATER," Donald Trump Jr. exclaimed.
"Shocker... The better question for @CNN is why they waited until after the election for their public epiphany that China misled the world about Coronavirus. This isn’t news," Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y. tweeted.
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"Exclusive: China lies, CNN shocked!" Team Trump social media director Mike Hahn quipped.
"The kind of story that gets published on November 30, but not on October 30..." Fourth Watch media critic and former CNN producer Steve Krakauer wrote.
Commentary writer Drew Holden put CNN on blast, reviving several tweets the outlet made throughout the pandemic that appeared to take China at its word regarding its response to the virus.
"Perhaps now is a good time for @CNN to stop parroting CCP talking points on coronavirus then?" Holden reacted.
Among the several Twitter headlines generated by CNN include a "rebuttal" what China described as "24 'preposterous allegations and lies'" from US politicians and media outlets to "'shift the blame to China for their inadequate response to Covid-19.'"
An editorial published by CNN in May slammed the Trump administration's accusations against China as "reckless, dangerous, and could push the world to conflict."
Daily Wire editor Cabot Phillips similarly found a tweet from March showing CNN echoing China's claim that it had found "no new locally transmitted coronavirus cases" since the pandemic began.
"Huh. So maybe you shouldn't have reported on China's fabricated numbers as fact all year?" Phillips told CNN.
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Back in April, CNN was accused of "literally publishing Chinese propaganda" after running a report that cited a media outlet controlled by the Chinese government.
Following backlash, CNN overhauled its report by expressing some more skepticism of China's claims while putting a stronger emphasis on the fact that its sourcing also came from a Chinese-controlled outlet.