After slamming Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Fox News earlier this week for propping up erroneous reports on "no-go zones" -- supposed sections of European cities where Sharia law rules and non-Muslims are not welcome -- CNN's Anderson Cooper admitted his own shortcomings in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre.
"I think if you are going to point fingers at other people’s mistakes, you should also acknowledge your own mistakes and we didn’t do that on the program," the anchor said Wednesday night on his program, "AC360." "In the wake of the Paris attacks, several guests on this program mentioned 'no-go zones' in France. I didn’t challenge them and twice referred to them as well."
"I should have been more skeptical," he continued. "Won’t make the same mistake again."
CNN was the first to report that the city of Paris plans to take legal action against Fox News for its "no-go zone" remarks, with Mayor Anne Hidalgo telling Christiane Amanpour that "the honor of Paris has been prejudiced" by the network.
While over the weekend Fox News apologized four times for the unsubstantiated claims made on its air, CNN, too, dealt in "no-go zone" hysteria. As The Washington Post's Erik Wemple points out, on Jan. 9, a former CIA officer told Cooper that in France -- as well as other parts of Europe -- there are "no-go zones" managed by Islamic councils where "police don’t go in."
CNN's Chris Cuomo also referred to "no-go zones" while reporting on the ground in Paris.