CNN commentator and White House press corps member April Ryan is under fire after tweeting about a story that asked if the Trump administration is involved in child sex-trafficking.
The tweet alerted her 336,000 Twitter followers to a story in The Root, an online magazine that showcases black news, opinions, politics and culture.
The headline of The Root article reads: ‘Is the Trump administration running a child-trafficking ring or nah? Follow me down the rabbit hole.’
CNN contributor April Ryan is being criticized for alerting her 336,000 Twitter followers to a story in The Root that asks if the Trump administration is involved in child sex-trafficking
A story published by The Root, pictured, raised questions around whether President Donald Trump could be engaged in child trafficking
Ryan, who is also the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, initially tweeted the article without comment but after coming in for a barrage of criticism decided to justify her posting.
‘So apparently fox just wants to slam me for clicks. and never read the article I retweeted either. Lol! So sad! Hello it said the conspiracies were unfounded. You just need me to hate. Thank you!!’ she tweeted.
The Root’s article asked why ‘alt-righters’ should have ‘all the fun’ peddling disproven and unfounded conspiracy theories.
The political editor of the website Jason Johnson then proceeds to suggest one of his own.
Defending her social media use, Ryan accused the Fox News reporter of not reading the story she had tweeted out, and that it noted the conspiracy was unproven
April Ryan took to Twitter on Sunday night accusing Fox News of off slamming her ‘for clicks’
‘Now it turns out that the Trump administration may have an equally implausible conspiracy on its hands: Is the administration involved in child sex trafficking or just white nationalism? Follow me down the rabbit hole and see for yourself,’ Johnson wrote in the article, published Friday.
Many on Twitter then went on to question how Ryan, a professional journalist, could associate herself with such a story.
Among those condemning Ryan for the tweet was first lady Melania Trump’s spokeswoman.
‘If you’re a journalist w many followers & a @CNNPolitics contributor…is it ok to retweet any headline you want, regardless of if it’s true?’ Grisham asked on Twitter. ‘Remember: ‘The core purpose of a journalist is to research, document, write, & present the news in an honest, ethical, & unbiased way.”
First Lady Melania Trump’s communications director, took aim at Ryan’s retweet of the story, suggesting it was irresponsible
The Root’s story was based partly on revelations that almost 1,500 immigrant children that have gone missing under the watch of the current administration.
It remains unclear what exactly happened to them after they were assigned sponsors.
If left without supervision, they could potentially fall victim to trafficking schemes which continue to operate throughout the country and across the globe.