United States President Donald Trump has sparked controversy after alleging that a report aired by CNN was sourced from a “fake news site from Nigeria,” while disputing Iran’s claim of victory following a ceasefire agreement.
Trump made the claim in a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, shortly after announcing a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
Reacting to a statement attributed to Iran, he said, “The alleged statement put out by CNN World News is a fraud, as CNN well knows.”
He added, “The false statement was linked to a Fake News site (from Nigeria) and, of course, immediately picked up by CNN, and blared out as a ‘legitimate’ headline.”
Trump further insisted that the version circulated by CNN did not reflect Iran’s official position, stating, “The Official Statement by Iran was just released, and posted on TRUTH, below.”
In a follow-up post, the US president intensified his criticism, saying, “No one can believe that Fake News CNN put out a knowingly false and dangerous statement pretending it came from the upper levels of the Iranian Government. It didn’t! It was totally made up and posted, as a headline, for purpose of, perhaps, inflaming a very delicate situation.”
He further alleged that the report originated from “a new, trouble-making site from Nigeria,” adding that “CNN just got caught cheating — a very dangerous thing to do.”
The disputed statement, reportedly issued by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, claimed that Tehran had recorded a “historic and crushing defeat” against the United States and compelled Washington to accept elements of its proposed negotiation framework.
However, Trump rejected the claim, insisting that the official Iranian position did not support such assertions, and demanded that CNN withdraw the report and apologise.
He said, “Authorities are looking to determine whether or not a crime was committed on the issuance of the Fake CNN World Statement, or was it a sick rogue player.”
Trump added, “CNN is being ordered to immediately withdraw this statement with full apologies for their, as usual, terrible ‘reporting.’ Results of the investigation will be announced in the near future.”
The mention of Nigeria has drawn attention locally, although Trump did not provide evidence to substantiate his claim that the report originated from a Nigerian-based platform.
Backing the president, Chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, criticised the network’s handling of the report.
Carr said, “Fake news is bad enough for the country, but pushing out a hoax headline in such a sensitive national security moment as this requires accountability.”
However, CNN firmly stood by its reporting and refused to retract the statement.
A spokesperson for the network said the report was based on information obtained directly from Iranian officials and corroborated by multiple Iranian state media outlets.
The spokesperson stated, “We received the statement from specific official Iranian spokespeople who are known to us,” adding that versions of the same statement were widely circulated in both English and Farsi across Iranian state platforms.
CNN maintained that its reporting reflected what was communicated by Iranian authorities at the time, stressing that the network relied on verified sources and standard journalistic processes in publishing the report.
The development comes amid global reactions to the ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, reached shortly before a deadline set by Trump for possible military action.
While both Washington and Tehran have claimed victory in the conflict, the truce has been broadly welcomed as a step toward de-escalation, especially given the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz to global energy supplies.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, confirmed that safe passage through the strait would be guaranteed for two weeks as part of the agreement.
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