A CNN analyst is facing backlash for a tweet she sent about Pierre Zakrzewski, a Fox News cameraman who died while covering the war in Ukraine.
Susan Glasser, a CNN global affairs analyst and staff writer for The New Yorker tweeted, “What a tragedy. A cameraman died covering the war for a TV network that airs a pro-Putin propagandist as its top-rated primetime host.”
“So grateful for the heroic work that Pierre and all the journalists, Ukrainian and foreign, have been doing, risking their lives to show us the horror of this war. Makes the years of lies and propaganda so much harder to take—there are truly deadly consequences,” she added.
So grateful for the heroic work that Pierre and all the journalists, Ukrainian and foreign, have been doing risking their lives to show us the horror of this war. Makes the years of lies and propaganda so much harder to take—there are truly deadly consequences.
— Susan Glasser (@sbg1) March 15, 2022
Her comments did not go over well on Twitter:
Ma'am, I know this may be difficult, but perhaps you could show some class and in the words of Madea, "put the shut to the up." https://t.co/r1RsxX3qcI
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) March 15, 2022
They can’t help themselves. And the reason is that their ideology is their religion. https://t.co/jrUogfpHwr
— David Marcus (@BlueBoxDave) March 15, 2022
Exploiting the tragic death of a brave journalist in a war zone to smear another journalist as a Kremlin propagandist. These people's souls are rotted from the inside out: consumed with jingoism and a McCarthyite zeal to hunt traitors, leaving them convinced all tactics are just https://t.co/w1vRbPpl8z
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 15, 2022
What a trash thing to say. Downright evil. Some thoughts should remain unexpressed. https://t.co/fvaalNfFez
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) March 15, 2022
A man died in the name of journalism but hey let’s minimize it @sbg1 — do better. https://t.co/zJpOEEOqps
— Ali Bradley (@AliBradleyTV) March 15, 2022
This is gross. These people are evil. The folks who try to censor dissenting opinions and then exploit a tragedy think they are the good guys. https://t.co/S31tDmBWK5
— Lisa Boothe (@LisaMarieBoothe) March 15, 2022
We’ll see if @sbg1 apologizes. I suspect, given her record, that she won’t. https://t.co/zr76emkOBF
— Isaac Schorr (@isaac_schorr) March 15, 2022
I hesitate to even circulate this garbage, but I will never get used to the casual viciousness we see around here. I don't understand people who think this way, much less announce it to the world. https://t.co/Wwo69M1pTW
— Brian Riedl ? ?? (@Brian_Riedl) March 15, 2022
Pro Tip: Don't make political dunks while tweeting about someone's tragic death. https://t.co/EQNEH3yvDV
— Beverly Hallberg (@BeverlyHallberg) March 15, 2022
Never let a news hook go to waste. https://t.co/Ps57HikQu4
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) March 15, 2022
Stay classy. https://t.co/vwsMOweYhs
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) March 15, 2022
Be a better person than this https://t.co/u6pePxDSWU
— Alex Plitsas ?? (@alexplitsas) March 15, 2022
Wow. As a quote retweet, too. Inappropriate and cruel. https://t.co/ocY3CTs6Ls
— Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) March 15, 2022
Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kuvshynova were killed on Monday outside of Kyiv after their car came under fire.
Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall was also injured and hospitalized on Monday, as IJR reported.
The news of Hall’s injury came a day after Brent Renaud, an American journalist, and filmmaker, was shot and killed in Ukraine by Russian forces.
American journalist Juan Arredondo was traveling with Renaud when he was shot. Arredondo was wounded during the incident.
Renaud was the first foreign journalist to be killed in Ukraine while covering Russia’s invasion. However, Ukrainian camera operator Yevhenii Sakun was reportedly killed earlier this month when Russia shelled Kyiv’s TV tower.
In a statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists reacted to Renaud’s death, “Russian forces in Ukraine must stop all violence against journalists and other civilians at once, and whoever killed Renaud should be held to account.”
Glasser’s tweet refers to criticism that has been leveled at Fox News’ Tucker Carlson for comments that have been perceived as pro-Russian even amidst its invasion of Ukraine.
