REPORT: CNN’s Sally Kohn Fabricated Quotes In Her Book

On Thursday, a left-wing podcast host accused CNN commentator Sally Kohn of fabricating quotes in her newly-released book, “The Opposite Of Hate.”

In a series of tweets, Aminatou Sow accused Kohn of falsely attributing quotes to her in the book. Sow started by tweeting:

I saw a tweet earlier on the timeline about book publicity and it brought into focus a situation I’m dealing it and because Brooklyn is a small village, a lot of people know about it.
— Aminatou Sow (@aminatou) April 12, 2018

Sow continued:

She was writing a book about hate. and I guess…unlearning hate? I certainly remember her talking about it and from following her work from afar for years, I was very aware of the reservations I have about her politics in general
— Aminatou Sow (@aminatou) April 12, 2018

Sow then addressed the section in Kohn’s book where the controversy exists:

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, she casually lets it slide that I’m quoted in her book. Oh? Really. I don’t remember sitting down for an interview or agreeing to be quoted. Let’s look at the quote shall we? pic.twitter.com/wJxcKuaubD
— Aminatou Sow (@aminatou) April 12, 2018

Sow continued:

Where to even start?
1. she grossly misrepresents our relationship,
2. I would never refer to myself as a writer at this stage of my career,
3. It was a car service and not a cab.
On its face this seems petty, but details matter to me…they should matter to a book writer.
— Aminatou Sow (@aminatou) April 12, 2018

The allegations get worse as Sow adds:

This quote is explosive and not only do I not remember saying it or Sally asking for my permission to quote me in the car ride, she has admitted to me that she did not go back to factcheck sources in her book. This has been a real education the book editing process. pic.twitter.com/PKekIwe5Wc
— Aminatou Sow (@aminatou) April 12, 2018

Sow continues:

When I approached the Exec. Editor and Publisher at Algonquin, I was told that Sally is “a first time book author*” in defense of her process. I am a zero time book author but this feels sloppy to me.
*[Thank you NY state one party consent laws]
— Aminatou Sow (@aminatou) April 12, 2018

Sow said that Kohn never responded to her as she also went on to suggest that Kohn’s motivation could be racially motivated:

I’m actually not surprised at all that a white woman would put ugly words in my mouth as a setup to an exploration to a problem she has no expertise writing about. Tale as old as time y’all.
— Aminatou Sow (@aminatou) April 12, 2018