CNN: Anchor promptly made on-air correction about Arpaio
PHOENIX — Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio alleged in a defamation lawsuit earlier this week against three news organizations that CNN made no effort to correct anchor Chris Cuomo’s erroneous statement that the lawman was a convicted felon.
But CNN released a statement Thursday saying Cuomo corrected his error on air within minutes of making it during the Jan. 10 broadcast. “He is convicted of a misdemeanour. He’s not a convicted felon, like I said,” Cuomo said. “Meaningful distinction. He got pardoned.”
The former six-term sheriff of metro Phoenix said Cuomo’s correction has no bearing on the case. “Whether he apologized and corrected it, he still threw it out there for the whole world to see,” Arpaio said. “He should have known better to begin with.”
CNN said an online companion story about Arpaio didn’t contain Cuomo’s correction, though the story has been updated to include the anchor’s on-air correction and a written preface that points out Cuomo rectified the error during the same show.