A video producer at CNN has made the gaffe of a lifetime - mixing up President Obama's name for that of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden which proceeded to send social media into a fit of laughter.
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The mockery occurred on the channel's Erin Burnett OutFront show, which dedicated the entire program to Robert O'Neill, the man recently identified as the Navy SEAL who shot and killed Osama bin Laden in 2011.
It comes as Muslim militants made death threats against Mr O'Neill after he told The Washington Post on Thursday he was the man who ended the biggest terrorist manhunt in history.
For around 45 seconds, CNN ran the heading: "SEAL WHO CLAIMS HE KILLED OBAMA UNDER ATTACK".
In reality, the mistake could not have included two people on more opposite ends of the evil spectrum.
After realising their initial mistake, CNN quickly corrected the headline to say "Bin Laden" instead of "Obama" but it was too late as viewers took pictures and poked fun at the news organisation's mistake.
Hey @CNN, that's one name you can't misspell. Osama Bin Laden and President Obama aren't interchangeable. pic.twitter.com/2yGb86MfJ3 — KB (@Kayla__Brandon) November 8, 2014
Oops @cnn. Killed Obama??? pic.twitter.com/mQIVImrpAv — Mike Gleeson (@thegeneralisin) November 8, 2014
Wow the SEALs are out of control pic.twitter.com/g0F9Dvidbh — Jon Passantino (@passantino) November 8, 2014
Boy oh boy is someone going to get flak for this Osama-Obama slip at @CNN. Happens to the best of them. pic.twitter.com/9q12K8BxMU — Tammy Mendoza (@mycolorisyellow) November 8, 2014
Some intern is definitely getting fired tonight #fixed pic.twitter.com/i4sgHTQgBd — Victoria Pace (@vlpace) November 8, 2014
“@PzFeed: CNN accidently 'killed' Obama instead of Osama bin Laden. pic.twitter.com/wQOW0flf8x” pic.twitter.com/CZ5AXqyXQV — Troopman4 ⚾️ (@Troopman4) November 9, 2014
