The killing of an unarmed black man George Floyd in the city of Minneapolis sparked nationwide outcry for justice as the video of the police killing a man went viral on the internet.
Following the events, American rapper Killer Mike gave a tearful speech to the protesters in Atlanta.
The rapper, who is also an activist, addressed the protesters at a press conference in Atlanta.
During his speech, he also said things about CNN 'feeding fear and anger', but later when New York Times media columnist Ben Smith asked Mike the meaning of his statement, the rapper said he did not mean to single out CNN.
He added that the media is 'not good for our physical health'.
A full response was issued by Mike in which he justifies his statement.
Mike cites the example of CNN's service between 1979 and 1980, the time when presidential elections were approaching. He feels, that was the time people needed to be scared to vote for Reagan.
"There was a need for people to be scared enough to vote for Reagan. It seems to me that the fear component of media, period - not just limited to CNN - has become one that features angst, and anxiety and people in my community are constantly bombarded by that," Mike said.
"The fear anxiety and panic are going to be given to you, and things like kidney disease and blood pressure are already running rampant and that's not good for your physical health.
"It's not good for your spiritual health because you become helpless and you become apathetic. It's not good for your health in terms of actually mentally being able to think or be willing to get out and organize. You become trapped in the house, you become scared," he adds.
"So in my opinion the news media needs to be putting stories of hope and change out there, because we can do a profile of every person on this phone and be more hopeful. You can do one hour of truth serum a day versus twenty three hours of fear and panic. The news media is not doing that and I feel that it's time to be called to task," Mike concluded.
For the unversed, protests have taken place across the U.S. this week after Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in police custody after he was accused of attempting to use a counterfeit 20 USD bill at a Minneapolis deli.
Floyd was handcuffed and pinned to the ground by police, with one officer, Derek Chauvin, holding his knee to the man's neck for more than seven minutes, even as he complained that he couldn't breathe and pleaded for help, and after he became unresponsive. Paramedics were called and performed chest compressions and transported the man to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The video of the arrest went viral which prompted protests and riots in Minneapolis and other cities across the country. The four police involved in the incident were fired, and on Friday, Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
