Pressure Mounts on CNN to Disclose Business Relationship with UAE
Pressure Mounts on CNN to Disclose Business Relationship with UAE
16 activist groups sign open letter calling on CNN to come clean about any financial partnership ahead of the Gulf dictatorship’s #Expo2020
A new report from Responsible Statecraft’s Eli Clifton and a pressure campaign from a collection of activist groups has put CNN’s sycophantic coverage of the UAE in the spotlight as the media outlet prepares to be “the official broadcaster for Expo 2020 Dubai” set to kick off hours from now.
Clifton, following reporting from The Column documenting CNN’s PR fluff for the UAE, reached out to CNN to request comment on any potential partnership with the Gulf monarchy. “CNN did not respond to the questions,” Clifton reports.
Despite the outlet’s silence, as Clifton lays out, “production and distribution of sponsored content for clients in Dubai falls under the Foreign Agent Registration Act, a statute requiring registration for entities within the United States serving ‘as a foreign principal’s public relations counsel, publicity agent, information-service employee, or political consultant.’”
Responsible Statecraft notes that CNN sometimes offers vague references to sponsored content but never says what is and isn’t, nor is the vast majority of their puffy UAE coverage labeled as such. The “network’s opacity about its relationship with the Expo and Dubai tourism," Clifton writes, “may pose an ongoing challenge for efforts to distinguish its independently produced journalism from state-sponsored content promoting a sanitized image of an undemocratic nation with a problematic human rights record.”
This afternoon, on the eve of Expo 2020, a collection of human rights, pro-democracy, and anti-war groups wrote an open letter to CNN demanding the outlet “reveal their relationship with UAE monarchy and report on UAE’s war in Yemen during Dubai Expo coverage.” The letter read, in part:
We are deeply troubled to learn that CNN will be an official broadcaster for “Expo 2020 Dubai,” beginning this October 2021. The monarchy of the United Arab Emirates, together with the rulers of Saudi Arabia, have committed horrific human rights violations in Yemen, where they have caused vast levels of suffering for millions of Yemeni civilians.
The UAE and Saudi governments use high publicity propaganda events, like this October’s UAE “Expo 2020 Dubai” and Saudi Future Investment Initiative, to attract investment and build political clout despite their brutal human rights records. This is why we urge you to 1) reveal the financial and contractual terms of your relationship with the UAE monarchy and the “Expo 2020 Dubai,” 2) reveal all financial and contractual terms for your “Dubai Now” promotional content, and 3) commit to reporting on the UAE’s terrible human rights violations and their use of events like the “Expo 2020 Dubai” for propaganda purposes, in your coverage of the UAE Dubai Expo. If CNN will not meet these requests, we call on you to withdraw as an “official broadcaster” for the UAE Dubai Expo immediately.
The letter was signed by Freedom Forward, Action Corps, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, Center for International Policy, Health Alliance International, Hands Off Yemen, Human Rights Sentinel, ReThinking Foreign Policy, Win Without War, and the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation. Other groups joining the effort are Project Break the Cycle, MENA Rights Group, and Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), founded by the late Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, right before he was murdered by UAE-ally Saudi Arabia
Executive Director of Freedom Forward, Sunjeev Bery, who hosted the open letter, will be following the Expo closely and documenting CNN’s softball converge:
On Sept 17, the European Parliament voted to boycott UAE’s Expo 2020, citing UAE’s human rights violations. As the Jerusalem Post reported:
Husain Abdulla, Executive Director at European Center for Democracy & Human Rights (ECDHR) said in a statement, “This resolution is an important step toward holding the UAE government accountable for its ongoing systematic human rights violations against its own citizens and its utter disregard to international law.
The UAE government has embraced an array of tactics to whitewash and cover its horrible human rights record, one of the leading methods being Dubai Expo 2020. Today’s vote by the European Parliament urging businesses and European member states to withdraw from this blood-tinted expo is a victory for human rights in the UAE, Europe and everywhere.”
These human rights violations don’t seem to be of any concern to CNN, which has engaged in minimal critical reporting on the absolute monarchy since it began publishing puff pieces on the UAE starting last year. When asked repeatedly on social media if he’d like to comment on the allegations, CNN's chief media correspondent Brian Stelter has not responded. Neither did any CNN and Time Warner reps who The Column and Responsible Statecraft reached out to for comment.
It remains to be seen if anyone from CNN or Warner Media will respond to the open letter put forward by the human rights and democracy organizations. Meanwhile, CNN’s Becky Anderson continues to report out puffery for the regime.
To get a sense of CNN’s UAE coverage over the past year, republished from our original report below is 106 articles breezily promoting the dictatorship, 105 of which have no disclosure of any kind that the content is paid sponsorship.
9/13/2021: Ain Dubai: How the world's largest observation wheel was built
9/13/2021: This is the tallest observation tower in the world
9/9/2021: Michael Cinco brings sparkle to Dubai
8/26/2021: This center in Dubai is growing 'future-proof' food in the desert
8/18/2021: This Dubai-based company wants to revolutionize how ports operate
8/11/2021: Dubai is building an art collection--without buying art
8/11/2021: Inside Dubai's first institutional art collection
8/5/2021: Dubai's luxury megaproject Heart of Europe is creating a huge coral reef
8/5/2021: Influencer regenerates coral life at Dubai's Heart of Europe megaproject
7/23/2021: Dubai artist sets her work on fire
7/22/2021: These futuristic pods couldn’t help cities solve their traffic problems
7/19/2021: The rapid rise of gaming in the Middle East
7/16/2021: Where to find some cool travel escapes in the blazin' hot summer
7/12/2021: Dubai galleries are turning their artworks into NFTs
7/8/2021: World's deepest pool opens in Dubai, part of huge underwater city
7/8/2021: See inside the world's deepest dive pool
7/7/2021: These age-defying roses can last for years-and cost up to $80,000
7/7/2021: These rose creations can cost up to $80,000. Here's why
7/2/2021: An app is rewarding students for staying off their phones during class
6/30/2021: Making drinking water in the desert
6/25/2021: Deserted Dubai Airport terminal comes back to life
6/21/2021: Palm Jumeirah, Dubai's iconic man-made islands, turns 20
6/18/2021: How Expo 2020 in Dubai is highlighting women in society
6/18/2021: Microchip manicure' turns your nails into business cards
6/17/2021: Expo 2020 in Dubai is building a 'new city of the future'
6/10/2021: Amrita Sethi makes artworks from the sound of her own voice
6/10/2021: Amrita Sethi is making NFT voice art
6/10/2021: Amrita Sethi is turning voices into artworks
6/7/2021: This is the first ever Holocaust exhibition to open in the Arab world
6/7/2021: See inside the Arab world's first Holocaust exhibition
6/3/2021: Doing yoga in Dubai's 'rainforest'
5/27/2021: Scientists are zapping clouds with electricity to make rain
5/25/2021: Dubai Restaurant Week celebrate the city's dining scene
5/20/2021: Michaelangelo's David gets a 17-foot 'digital twin' in Dubai
5/18/2021: Is Dubai-based Baraka the Middle East's answer to Robinhood
5/12/2021: Love Lake: Heart-shaped lagoons link up in Dubai desert
5/3/2021: Address Beach Resort: The world's highest infinity pool has opened in Dubai
5/3/2021: This rooftop pool is nearly 1,000 feet above the ground
4/27/2021: Meet Yahya Jan, the architect building the world's tallest hotel, Dubai's Ciel Tower
4/27/2021: The architects building the world's tallest hotel, Dubai's Ciel Tower
4/15/2021: Art Dubai brings together artists from around the world
4/14/2021: The UAE is partnering with Japanese company ispace to launch a moon rover in 2022
4/14/2021: Starzplay streaming platform is launching new Arabic content
4/12/2021: Floating hotel concept creates its own electricity
4/10/2021: The United Arab Emirates has announced its first female astronaut
4/2/2021: In photos: Dubai in time of Covid
4/2/2021: Year-round sunshine, pool days and zero taxes: How to move to Dubai and work remotely for a year
3/30/2021: The UAE's tiny lunar rover will face big challenges on the moon
3/26/2021: Supercar Blondie' drives the world's fastest road cars for a living
3/24/2021: World's largest canvas painting fetches $62M at Dubai charity auction
3/22/2021: Behind the scenes at the Fish Hospital at Atlantis Dubai
3/17/2021: Supercar Blondie' has driven 400 of the world's fastest cars
3/14/2021: Shepard Fairey makes his Middle East debut with new show and mural in Dubai
3/10/2021: Photos reveal old Dubai
3/10/2021: What Dubai looked like before it boomed
3/9/2021: Dubai shoots for the stars
3/2/2021: Ride-hailing giant Careems is taking its place in the world of super apps
3/1/2021: This company wants to replace gas-powered motorcycles
2/23/2021: Dubai gives a glimpse inside its Expo Sustainability Pavilion
2/22/2021: Dubai Desert Classic: How the city became a golf destination
2/22/2021: Dubai app for children changing strategy during the pandemic
2/6/2021: How Dubai is paying the price for letting in tourists
2/4/2021: How to become a coffee expert in Dubai
2/2/2021: From rickety souk to global powerhouse: How Dubai became the City of Gold
2/2/2021: How Dubai became the City of Gold
1/28/2021: Finding substance and heart in a city of superlatives
1/27/2021: Could a 258 mph electric hypercar help Dubai ditch its gas guzzlers
1/27/2021: These high-tech, low-emission innovations could be the future of transport
1/20/2021: For one year, this man is eating only what's grown at Dubai's Sustainable City
1/20/2021: Green living in Dubai's Sustainable City
1/12/2021: This designer is giving the ancient art of henna a modern makeover
1/12/2021: This Dubai designer is reimagining henna art
12/29/2020: $400 for a Five Guys meal? Welcome to New Year's Eve in Dubai
12/28/2020: KISS play concert to 'KISS 2020 Goodbye'
12/28/2020: The snowboard-making giant based in the desert
12/28/2020: Snowboard maker based in the desert
12/23/2020: UAE's 2020 year in review
12/18/2020: An Israeli cowboy hopes cattle-herding drones will modernize the livestock industry
12/18/2020: Drone company competes in Dubai startup challenge
12/18/2020: Autonomous robots, flying vehicles and virtual reality at Dubai's GITEX
12/17/2020: These extraterrestrial building designs show the future of space architecture
12/14/2020: Dubai Fitness Challenge: A 30-day mission to get people moving
12/10/2020: An adrenaline ride over Dubai
12/10/2020: Smell the roses in Dubai's flower oasis
12/2/2020: Dubai's audacious Heart of Europe megaproject nears first stage competition
12/2/2020: What Dubai's Heart of Europe will look like
12/1/2020: Cyclists take to Dubai's streets for fitness challenge
12/1/2020: Dubai Ride' cycle challenge sees cars make way for bikes
11/28/2020: A man from the United Arab Emirates broke two wakeboarding records
11/24/2020: UAE hopes this tiny lunar rover will discover unexplored parts of the moon
11/24/2020: Emirates offers a free hotel stay with your Dubai layover
11/23/2020: UAE's first national rail network 'has the potential to transform the economy'