Weeks before Project Veritas report that CNN department director admits site is 'propaganda,' this prof called it a 'reliable' source

Weeks before Project Veritas revealed that a CNN director admitted that the outlet produces “propaganda,” a University of Georgia ecology professor lauded it to students as a reliable source.

In a video sting operation, Project Veritas obtained footage showing CNN Technical Director Charlie Chester admitting that the network casts a positive light on President Biden, reports on COVID-19 to sell “fear,” and worked to remove Trump from office via “propaganda.”

“We would always show shots of him [Biden] jogging and that [he’s] healthy, you know, and him in aviator shades,” said Chester about the network’s coverage of the President. “Like you paint him as a young geriatric.”

[RELATED: CNN analyst, Yale lecturer says US has a ‘biological terrorist’ in the White House]

“Look what we did, we got Trump out,” said Chester about the 2020 election. “I am 100% going to say it, and I 100% believe that if it wasn’t for CNN, I don’t know that Trump would have got voted out…I came to CNN because I wanted to be a part of that.”

Remarking on the network’s coverage of President Trump holding a drink of water, Chester said that “[Trump’s] hand was shaking or whatever, I think. We brought in so many medical people to tell a story that was all speculation — that he was neurologically damaged, and he was losing it. He’s unfit to — you know, whatever. We were creating a story there that we didn’t know anything about. That’s what — I think that’s propaganda.”

Speaking of CNN’s coverage of COVID-19, Chester said that “fear sells” and signaled that the outlet will employ similar tactics with climate change.

Despite these admissions, Campus Reform reported weeks ago that a University of Georgia ecology professor recommended CNN to students as a reliable source.

[RELATED: REPORT: UGA prof tells students ‘do not draw from questionable sources’ like Fox News. Use ‘reliable’ news like NY Times, CNN.]

According to screenshots obtained by Young America’s Foundation, professor Scott Connelly told students to “not draw from questionable sources such as National Inquirer, Fox News, OAN, blogs, etc” for an assignment. As YAF reported, Connelly instead touted “left-leaning sources like CNN and the New York Times as ‘reliable’ for student usage.”

Despite Chester’s self-admitted fear-mongering through the issue of climate change, Connelly sees the outlet as a reliable source for scientific information.

“If a student were able to find an appropriate article from any news source they may use that, although it will be much easier to complete the assignment in a reasonable amount of time if students start with the reliable news organizations that I suggested, which have run countless articles that are scientifically factually correct and also address the topic we are studying,” he told YAF.

Campus Reform asked Connelly whether the Project Veritas footage changes his mind about the validity of CNN, particularly on the issue of climate change. This article will be updated with any comment.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @BenZeisloft