CNN under fire over picture of Trump in 'sniper's crosshairs'

CNN is once again under fire from Trump supporters - this time, in a manner that has been criticised as spectacularly inappropriate.

Analyst Chris Cillizza posted agif of the president in green crosshairs to Twitter. Yes, crosshairs that look strikingly similar to those from a gun.

The political commentator claimed the crosshairs were an unintended consequence of the app CNN uses to make gifs.

He has now deleted the tweet to "clear up any unintended confusion" after significant backlash.

The tweet used a photo of Trump commemorating officers killed in the line of duty at the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service in Washington.

It was quickly criticised by conservative and right-leaning Twitter users.

And not all of them bought Cillizza's excuse...

CNN said the following in a statement to Fox News:

Chris has already addressed this issue publicly.

The image in question is a framing mark used in film and video production to frame a shot. Nothing more. A producer who created the motion graphic inadvertently left that frame in the GIF. 

When it came to our attention, the tweet containing the GIF was deleted and replaced with explanation. There is nothing more to say.

You can see an archived version of Cillizza's tweet here.

It comes less than a week after we reported on a pro-Trump billboard with seemed to encourage liberals to fight back against the president with guns.

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