Kenya would like an apology from CNN for calling it a 'hotbed of terror'
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Kenyans are demanding an apology from CNN over a report that referred to the country as a "hotbed of terror."
The network aired the segment in advance of President Obama's Friday visit. It discussed the terrorist group al-Shabab and its threat to the country. The report said that Obama was "not just heading to his father's homeland, but to a region that's a hotbed of terror." Al-Shabab is based in Somalia, but has hit in Kenya before; in April, 148 people were killed during an attack on Garissa University College.
Kenya's interior minister, Joseph Nkaissery, said during a news conference that Kenya is at risk of being attacked like any other country on Earth. He said CNN would apologize if "it was civilized enough," and later, he tweeted, "I urge Kenyans to treat the report with the contempt it deserves." Thousands of Kenyans followed his direction on Twitter, making the hashtag #SomeoneTellCNN trend worldwide. CNN has yet to respond to the criticism.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
