section_path: Controversies and criticisms
section_name: Controversies and criticisms
paragraph_text: Controversies and criticisms
  
  CNN has been involved in various controversies, criticisms, and allegations since its inception in 1980. The channel is known for its dramatic live coverage of breaking news, some of which has drawn criticism as overly sensationalistic.
  
  CNN claims to be "The Most Trusted Name in News", but its efforts to be nonpartisan have led to accusations of false balance. One study measured airtime of guests on major news networks between 2010 and 2021 and compared that to the guests' campaign donations. It found guests on CNN to have a liberal bias (a "campaign finance score" of −9.7, where 0 is equal airtime, compared to −14.1 for MSNBC and 49.8 for Fox News), which became more pronounced during the Trump administration. The same study found that some popular primetime news shows on CNN, such as Anderson Cooper 360 or CNN Tonight, are more left-leaning than popular MSNBC shows such as The Rachel Maddow Show or The 11th Hour with Brian Williams.
  
  In January 2020, CNN settled a multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit from Nick Sandmann, a Covington Catholic High School student involved in an encounter with Omaha tribe elder Nathan Phillips at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
  
  When Chris Licht took over the network in 2022, he expressed an intention to have more Republicans on the air and cut down on opinion-related content.
  
  After being fired in December 2021, former host Chris Cuomo was reported to be seeking $125 million in damages, alleging a breach of agreement. In April 2023, host Don Lemon announced that he had been fired.