CNN has hit peak Trump Derangement Syndrome just 24 hours before the the 45th president leaves office — offering tips on how to "de-programme" his "cult" supporters.
Author and self-styled "cult expert" Steven Hassan gave CNN's New Day programme advice on how to "deradicalize" Trump supporters, including gems of condescension such as: "Don't 'tell' them; help them make their own discoveries."
But Hassan is a poacher-turned-gamekeeper. He has previously admitted his claimed expertise on personality cults stems from the two-and-a-half years he spent in South Korean Reverend Sun Myung Moon's infamous religious cult, where he swiftly rose through the ranks to become a leader of the organisation within three months.
Social media users were quick to highlight how CNN has made little criticism of the ideology of anarchist groups that have run riot across the US since last spring's resurgence of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
Conservative commentator Jack Posobiec pointed out that CNN ran a sympathetic interview over the weekend with John Earle Sullivan, a member of the pro-BLM Insurgence USA group who has been charged over involvement in the January 6 Capitol building occupation. Recordings show Utah-based Sullivan incited protesters to storm the building.
CNN has already been widely lampooned after a reported described rampant arson and violence by Antifa anarchist rioters last year as "fiery but mostly peaceful protests".
Others focused on how CNN spent years promoting the debunked Russiagate conspiracy theory that Moscow somehow influenced Trump's 2016 election.
Trump supporters reacted to CNN's description of them as an extremist cult in need of de-programming with a mixture of indignation and ridicule.