Despite multiple media outlets being hammered for blaming the Waukesha Christmas parade massacre on a vehicle rather than its black driver – a murder suspect – CNN continued to blame “a car” for the mass killing.
Repeat felon Darrell Brooks killed six people and injured more than 60 when he plowed an SUV through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, last week. Though Brooks has been arrested and charged with six counts of murder, media outlets covering the massacre have seemingly made a point of avoiding naming the suspect, instead ascribing blame to the vehicle and calling the killing spree a “crash” or an “accident.”
Amid outrage from conservatives, the Washington Post last week deleted a tweet calling the incident a “tragedy caused by a SUV,” but CNN is standing its ground. In a tweet on a memorial event in Waukesha on Sunday, the liberal network said the city was “marking one week since a car drove through a city Christmas parade.”
Waukesha will hold a moment of silence today, marking one week since a car drove through a city Christmas parade, killing six people and injuring scores of others.https://t.co/QMNccpBI0y
— CNN (@CNN) November 28, 2021
Inside the article, only the final paragraph mentioned Brooks as the “suspected driver.”
The tweet led to an instant outpouring of scorn and ridicule from the right. “Will we ever know the car’s motivation? What did the car post on social media? What kind of background did the car have?” former US diplomat Alberto Migues Fernandez sarcastically quipped.
“Waukesha SUV Charged With Six Counts Of Murder,” read a headline on an article by The Babylon Bee, a conservative satirical outlet.
You guys know the movie Cars isn't real right? Cars are not living things.
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) November 28, 2021
It was a self-driving car? https://t.co/d6ZmtEirNR
— Marc Lobliner (@MarcLobliner) November 28, 2021
They know what they are doing, they don't care, they are evil. https://t.co/hCgw4RG3Jo
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) November 28, 2021
Wisconsin authorities are still investigating the killings, but politicians as well as media outlets have already been accused of attempting to focus attention away from Waukesha. Wisconsin Senators Tammy Baldwin (D) and Ron Johnson (R) issued a joint statement on Saturday imploring “outside individuals or groups” not to “exploit the tragedy” for political gain. No further details were given.
