CNN is facing questions from critics after the network was busted altering the lighting for President Biden’s speech on Thursday, softening the blood-red tones to more subdued shades of pink.
The president was mocked online for the stark black and red background, with many comparing the optics to “Star Wars” and “V for Vendetta.”
While networks like CNN, MSNBC, CBS and C-SPAN originally carried the speech appeared consistent, CNN noticeably altered the background color from red to pink in real time.
Eagle-eyed cable news watchers pounced on the shift. The story was reported to Mediaite, which put CNN’s footage side-by-side with other networks, showing that CNN’s outage was not a technical issue affecting all networks.
“CNN appears to have tweaked the video of Biden’s speech from demonic red to Pepto-Bismol pink. Very helpful, since we needed a lot of Pepto-Bismol to get through this!” said former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
The CNN broadcast appeared to show a pink background behind Biden.
A CNN representative said the problem was caused by a technical glitch with the CBS group’s feed.
Although Biden promised to deliver a unifying speech on the “battle for the nation’s soul,” he was criticized by supporters as divisive and fear-mongering. Many clung to his claims that “MAGA Republicans” were a threat to the country, something the president later walked back.
“I don’t consider any Trump supporter a threat to the country,” he told Fox News on Friday. “I think that anyone who calls for the use of violence, refuses to recognize an election … to change the way votes are counted, that is a threat to democracy.”