Riyadh- The American based cable CNN recently used five-year-old misleading footage of Yemen when reporter Christiane Amanpour was interviewing Arab coalition’s spokesman and military advisor to Saudi Defense Minister General Ahmed Al-Assiri.
The Saudi-led Arab Coalition is an Arab effort to restore the internationally recognized government to authority in Yemen, a country which has been ravaged by Iran-aligned putschists.
Amanpour, in an offbeat attitude, accused Saudi Arabia of crimes against humanity in Yemen, such as forced starvation against local civilians.
Commenting to the wild accusations of Amanpour, General Assiri said that he was sure that the footage was retrieved from areas sieged by coup forces, namely Taiz.
Amanpour responded with personal disregard as to the source of the image, and focused on whether the photo showcasing a starved eighteen-year-old female was real or not.
Four days after airing the interview, and after being looked into, the footage was discovered to date back five years ago, before the military operation by the Saudi-led Arab coalition was launched to aid in restoring peace to Yemen.
The military campaign dates only three and a half years back.
Saudi social media activists demanded that the rowdy accusations made against the Kingdom’s efforts in Yemen be taken back for the lack of professionalism—the footage was used to manipulate viewers’ emotions, spurring anti-Saudi sentiment and leading to predisposed judgment.
Saudi columnist and expert on Iranian political affairs Mohammad al-Sulami tweeted on his utter shock on the revelation made on the credibility of Amanpour’s footage. He also questioned whether an apology is due or not.
Twitter account users were further astonished at Amanpour’s complete negligence to mention Saudi Arabia’s relief efforts in Yemen, as to produce an unbiased argument before the audience. Furthermore, both Amanpour and CNN had failed to report on 34 aid ships which have been reportedly seized by coup militiamen and withheld from reaching needy civilians.
