CNN hits back at Trump’s ‘fake news’ attacks by explaining what an apple is: 'Some may tell you it's a banana'

The President has waged a war of truth with the network and other news outlets that cover him critically

After months of abuse from the president of the United States, CNN is hitting back with a not-so-subtle dig at Donald Trump’s relationship with facts.

A 30-second advertisement shows an apple sitting in front of an all white backdrop, with the patient kind of explanation a preschool teacher may give to a child still connecting names with objects:

“This is an apple,” the narrator says. “Some people might try to tell you that it’s a banana. They might scream, banana, banana, banana over and over and over again. They might put BANANA in all caps. You might even start to believe that this is a banana.”

“But it’s not. This is an apple,” the advertisement finishes.

Mr Trump has sought to brand CNN and other major news outlets in the US as “fake news”, an adaptation of a term once used to describe literal fake news propagated during the 2016 campaign by outside groups that sowed uncertainty and misinformation via social media platforms.

The advertisement pokes fun at the way Mr Trump has attempted that rebranding. The President frequently repeats himself during speeches, attempting to drive home the point he’s trying to make. On Twitter, he frequently writes in all caps to emphasize the “fake news” he sees — that meaning, of course, critical coverage of him.

The attacks on CNN may have damaged the network’s credibility in the eyes of the average voter, though polls show that Mr Trump has managed to maintain the lowest approval rating in modern history for a president at this point in his presidency.

A poll earlier this year showed that CNN had the lowest credibility of all the major networks, with a 41 per cent credibility rating (that poll subtracted the percent of people who said “not credible” from those who said “credible”).

Mr Trump’s job approval, meanwhile, clocks in at just 36 per cent, according to Gallup. Fifty-eight per cent of Americans say that they disapprove of his job performance.