Former CNN host Brian Stelter is joining Vanity Fair as a special correspondent to cover the Fox News v. Dominion Voting Systems court case. In addition to penning a weekly column on the trial, Stelter will host a weekly edition of Vanity Fair’s “Inside the Hive” podcast, which he announced will be called, “Fox on Trial.”
Stelter’s tenure with CNN ended when his show was canceled by new CNN CEO Chris Licht who in the midst of declining ratings for the network sought to reduce the network’s partisanship.
The former “Reliable Sources” host was known for persistent criticism of Donald Trump and the credibility of conservative media. He once compared the “radicalization” of Trump supporters by the “right-wing media machine” to members of ISIS, the Daily Caller reported.
Stelter regaled his own viewers with frequent coverage of, and claims regarding, stories of President Trump having colluded with the Russian government in order to rig the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as commentary and coverage pertaining to the “Hunter Biden Laptop” story being manufactured by a Russian disinformation operation in conjunction with conservative media and political figures such as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
He and many other outlets (see below) pushing the “Russian Disinformation” story succeeded in getting the true story censored and blocked from social media outlets until after the 2020 election.
Stelter also became known for later appearing to deny having made those Russia-related claims once they had been exposed as false.
Shortly after his show’s termination he was invited to join Harvard’s Shorenstein as a fellow. The Shorenstein Center has worked with media executives at CNN, MSNBC, NBC News, the Los Angeles Times, Axios, Buzzfeed News, The Associated Press and MSNBC to “help newsroom leaders fight misinformation and media manipulation” in the news.
Stelter also hosted a panel on “disinformation” at the World Economic Forum in January.
The assignment is temporary. “It’s going to be a busy six-or-so weeks,” Stelter tweeted.
Scroll down to leave a comment and share your thoughts.