CNN did not announce that there would be no live audiences at future town hall events after hosting former U.S. President Donald Trump this month, a spokesperson for the news channel said, reacting to a claim posted online. The claim was shared on social media after CNN hosted a town hall with Trump in New Hampshire on May 10, marking the first televised town hall of the 2024 presidential campaign (here). One tweet gathered over 40,000 likes and reads: “CNN announces there will be no more live audiences at town halls Trump broke CNN” (archive.is/TZb0d). Reuters did not find any credible media outlets reporting that there will be an end to live audiences during town hall events leading up to the 2024 elections (archive.is/wip/hcQVH). Reuters did not find any press release (cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/) or reporting on CNN’s website indicating that the channel would no longer host live audiences at town hall events (archive.is/wip/pwnx9).

Source: CNN May 17, 2023 12:40 UTC