CNN has ended its relationship with Adeel Raja, a Pakistani freelancer with a history of tweeting about the virtues of Adolf Hitler — namely, his attitude toward and attempts to annihilate the Jewish people.
In a since-deleted tweet, Raja submitted that “the world today needs a Hitler.” Further digging revealed that this was not a one-off, Raja’s feed is littered with praise for Hitler.
For example, Raja used the occasion of the 2014 World Cup to remark that he would be supporting Germany in the finals because “Hitler was a German and he did good with those Jews!” Leaving no doubt about his allegiances, he added a “hail Hitler!” the next day.
Raja has also been harshly critical of the United States’ relationship with Israel, characterizing it as having “a history of creating terrorists and standing with them!”
CNN released the following statement on Sunday:
“Adeel Raja has never been a CNN employee. As a freelancer, his reporting contributed to some newsgathering efforts from Islamabad. However, in light of these abhorrent statements, he will not be working with CNN again in any capacity.”
That statement came after CNN spokesman Matt Dornic told the Washington Examiner he had “never heard of” Raja but was looking into the situation.
Raja had been publishing at the outlet since 2014 and his last byline was in September 2020.