CNN has denied claims it positioned anti-extremism demonstrators behind its cameras to 'create a narrative', insisting the group arrived to be seen by TV cameras (Photo from Mail Online)

CNN is being accused of creating a narrative after terrorists rammed a vehicle into pedestrians on the London Bridge and then abandoned their vehicle to continue their attack, killing seven people and wounding dozens. CNN has called the claims “absolute nonsense.”

The U.S. news outlet has denied claims that it “set up” a protest scene. But a video uploaded by Londoner Mark Antro (@markantro) seems to show CNN creating a protest scene in London. In the scene, you see protestors being told where to stand and what to do in front of cameras. American social media personality Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) claimed that printed papers and props were brought for the protesters. According to Huanqiu, CNN was not the only media outlet to use the protest scene. Journalists from the BBC, the Associated Press, and other mainstream Western media outlets also used the scene to create their own narratives.

U.S. President Donald Trump has long accused his nation’s leading media outlets of mass producing fake news in order to advance their own political agendas and gain audience. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., took to Twitter to back up his father on June 5, writing that he is not surprised by this latest example of news creation. “Not at all surprising at this point. They create the narrative they want to push & sell it at all costs,” he wrote, adding the hashtag #fakenews at the end.

In his tweet, Trump Jr. also included a link to a story on the Gateway Pundit, titled, “CNN Creates #FakeNews in London Following Terror Attacks, Stages Anti-ISIS Muslim Protestors.” One user on the site called CNN “nothing but propaganda film producers.” Another user called CNN “a leader in FAKE news.” Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the U.S. president, called CNN “one of the greatest purveyors of fake news” in a recent interview with CNN.

China’s social media users also responded to the controversy. “Trump is right, CNN is fake news,” a user wrote on Weibo. “Trump must be laughing at the White House,” wrote another Weibo user. Others joked that freedom of press must include the freedom to create fake news. China has long made the argument that press freedom in the U.S. is influenced by money and that wealthy people have the power to manipulate the mass media, which can serve as their mouthpieces.