It might be the quickest-ever fact check.
A segment of Elex Michaelson‘s The Story Is on CNN was censored last night just as the network’s correspondent in Beijing, Mike Valerio, began describing the topics that trigger the Middle Kingdom’s censors.
“We’re being watched right now,” Valerio explained as part of the segment, “so if we say anything that they deem problematic they will put color bars up and say, ‘Please stand by.’”
Valerio said that he was watching the network’s China feed even as he spoke with Michaelson. He noted that, while the signal to the U.S. would likely remain, he would immediately be able to tell if the feed to those in China had been interrupted.
He went on to discuss how President Trump’s Iran strikes are perceived by many Chinese as good for their interests. Then it happened.
“Anddd we’re being censored right now, just so you know,” reported Valerio. “Color bars are up.”
The feed to the U.S. was uninterrupted, however, and the interview continued.
“So I just asked a question about how the Chinese censors work, and the Chinese people that were monitoring that decided we do not want people to hear that and they started to censor that discussion,” a shocked Michaelson confirmed. “Wow, that’s amazing.”
Later in the broadcast, Michaelson asked Valerio if the network was back on the air in China. The Beijing correspondent confirmed it was, and almost as soon as they started discussing the topic, Valerio said, “Oh…apparently we’re not.”
The network then put its China feed onscreen for U.S. viewers. Along with the aforementioned color bars, accompanying text in English read, “No signal please stand by.”