CNN asks if the KKK can 'rebrand'
Spencer Platt / Getty Images
Allow me to answer this one for you CNN: No. No, no, no, no, no. The Ku Klux Klan cannot 'rebrand' itself because it is not only a criminal hate organization, but rather the most infamous criminal hate organization in America.
The overwhelming prima facie case against CNN's inquisitive headline should have been enough for the network to put the kibosh on the article right there, before it got to the appalling lead, "Pointy hats, white robes, crosses burning, bodies hanging from trees." And even CNN, after digging a bit to probe whether the KKK could reinvent itself as a peaceful group opposed to racial harmony, quickly reached the same verdict.
To recap what happened here: CNN wrote a rage-inducing headline about the KKK that posed a loaded question CNN itself brushed aside almost immediately within the story, thus rendering the whole infuriating mess moot. Journalism students in Clickbait 101, take note.
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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
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