Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

President Obama Attending APEC Summit in Lima, Peru; Mitt Romney and Donald Trump: Bitter Rivals to White House Partners; Trump Children Will Take Over Trump Businesses; Fake Stories Filling Your Facebook News Feed; Exclusive Interview with YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired November 19, 2016 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:00:13] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. 7:00 p.m. eastern. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And tonight, we are watching two major political stories unfolding. Right now, Donald Trump meeting with some key potential staff and cabinet members in New Jersey in Bedminster. Among them, Mitt Romney, who leveled harsh criticism at Trump during the campaign. The two men have been meeting for an hour and twenty minutes departing with kind words and a handshake.

The president-elect also met with retired general James Mattis. Sources tell CNN Donald Trump is quote "very interested in the idea of having him on board as well."

Meantime, tonight, President Obama is attending the APEC summit in Lima, Peru, meeting with heads of states for these bilateral talks, many of them wondering what will be ahead as president-elect, Donald Trump, takes over the reign. Donald Trump told those leaders not to assume the worst about the president-elect. He also told them that he does not quote "anticipate major changes in policy." Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Looking forward to the opportunity once again to meet with president Xi. Over the past three and a half years, we have met nine times. The frequency of our engagement has enabled us to advance cooperation on sheer challenges and manage differences between our countries effectively. We collaborated on key global challenges from supporting global growth to preventing Iran from sending a nuclear weapon to ending the E-bola epidemic in West Africa. We demonstrated what is possible when our two countries work together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Meantime, U.S. president Barack Obama and Chinese president Xi Jinping meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit tonight in Peru. Let's bring in Andrew Stevens. He joins me tonight live from Hong Kong. Also with me, conservative economist Ben Stein. Gentlemen, thank you very much for being here.

And Andrew, let me begin with you because following this meeting today between the two world leaders, China's president Xi came out and he said that this is a quote "hinge moment, a hinge moment for U.S.-China relations." What do you take that to mean?

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN MONEY ASIA PACIFIC EDITOR: Well, I certainly think he's right, Poppy. This is a moment where things could dramatically change between the two biggest economists in the world. We just heard President Obama talking about what China and the U.S. share.

But if Donald Trump is taken at his word and we don't know whether it's going to be the case or not, it will be a much, much different picture. There is the real prospect of the trade war if Donald Trump declares China or kind of a manipulator if he slaps 45 percent tariffs, which in effect is got to be a tax on Chinese exports for U.S. consumers. It will more than like start a trade war and a trade war between the two biggest economists in the world. It can only be a disaster for the global economy.

So as far as that's concerned, that is a mess (INAUDIBLE) that we could be planted into a vastly different and much darker sort of global economic picture. And I guess another one, too, is climate. President Obama did not mention that China and the U.S. worked closely on climate deals which Donald Trump is also threatening to unravel. So yes, it is a hinge moment.

HARLOW: Ben Stein, to you from the length of an economist. I mean, you look at China's economy, it is growing gangbusters but it's slowing from where it was. There are major concerns about sort of the kind of China the president Xi is leading. Is it becoming more repressive? Is it going back to sort of the now his ideology? What are your concerns about China and the U.S. and the partnership between the two countries under President Trump? What changes?

BEN STEIN, ECONOMIST: Well, I don't think we have a partnership at all, in any event. But I hope and pray we are not about to have a trade war. I think our friend on the left side of the screen is extremely correct about that. If we have a trade war, if we really did stop 45 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, it would be disastrous. I don't see any point in it. We export a very roughly $120 billion worth of things, goods to China. They are a big, powerful country. They are not going to be pushed around by us. They will do counter (INAUDIBLE) duties on us. It's going to be very, very hard on U.S. soybean farmers, many growers of very many crops. It is nothing good that can come out of it.

HARLOW: So what is the read then, Andrew, from your lens in China? I mean, you know, what are the Chinese people saying about whether they believe what Donald Trump said on the campaign trail about yes, we are going to slap a 45 percent tariff on Chinese goods. Yes, China is currency manipulator. Did they relieve that that will happen as president or they see that as campaigning? [19:05:04] STEVENS: Yes. Well, the Chinese not pragmatic about these

things. And they see this and they want to see this as campaigning. That there is an understanding in Beijing that China will be a whipping post on the campaign trail. And we saw it both from Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, to be honest. So, they say campaigning Trump is going to be a different animal to the president and the president will see real politics in a different light.

And one thing though they say is that they expect him to be focusing more on domestic issues. We hear a lot about the trillion dollar infrastructure program in this part of the world. And they see this would be a way which would focus the new administration rather than changing the global order or damaging the global order in trade.

Just one quick thing I would say, Poppy, is that they do think that the TPP, this transpacific partnership, which is a signature trade deal of President Obama's will be dead. I mean, the White House is not pushing anymore which would give the Chinese a lot more leverage in Asia as far as their own economic muscle. They can write the rules in Asia which is something that they hope does go ahead.

HARLOW: It is all but dead in the water, of course, because the president-elect is not a supporter of it and it was obviously, you know, put in place in part to keep China in check. And as you said, allow the U.S. to sort of right the trade rules in the region that likely no longer is going to happen.

Ben, let me ask you about something that Donald Trump's chief strategist, Steve Bannon just said in a fascinating interview this week. He said, I'm not a white nationalist. I'm an economic nationalist. He went on to say the globalist gutted the American working class and created a middle class in Asia. The issue now is about Americans looking to not get f'ed over. Your response to that? How he can do that without starting a trade war?

STEIN: Well, I think the whole thing is nonsense from start to finish. I'm sure he is a wonderful human being and a saintly guy and great friend to his friends. But the collapse of the American middle class (INAUDIBLE) hasn't happened. The whole idea of that is a myth. Second idea that myths, somehow China has been stealing all our middle class jobs is a myth. There is a tremendous shortage in this country of skilled labor. We are not seeing a surplus of skilled labor in which jobs have been taken by China and sent over to (INAUDIBLE) and then Xi.

We have a tremendous need for electricians, plumbers, skilled tool and dye makers. The whole idea that all of these jobs are now being done in the Far East is simply not true. We have a big - we have full employment economy. The problems with the economy are largely workers who don't want to work anymore, not problems of workers are skilled.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Come on. A lot of -- there are some five million jobs open right now in the United States. But many of them are -- there's a skills gap. It's not just people don't want to work. There's an actual skills training education gap.

STEIN: Absolutely. And that is something -- that would be a very good thing for Mr. Trump to address. I think the idea of a national program, which he would be perfect to do of apprenticeship in which people are being taught by retired or senior workers to be electricians, plumbers, roof repairmen/women is a great, great idea. We need those people. And that, it seems to me is where Mr. Trump could step in and make an enormous difference. And he that has qualifications to do it.

HARLOW: Ben Stein, Andrew Stevens, thank you very much, gentlemen. We will see what become reality ahead in just about two months when he does become the next president. Appreciate it.

We have a lot more ahead tonight live in the CNN NEWSROOM. President- elect Trump, both his children are among his closest advisers. But could they also cause his biggest conflict of interest when he is in the oval office? We will take a look at the potentially huge problem for the new president on that front.

Also today in Bedminster, New Jersey, the president-elect met with the men and women who could make up his inner circle, his cabinet. A lot of key meetings today. He interviewed two contenders for two of the most key position in his administration. And moments ago, he spoke.

Our Phil Mattingly is live tonight in Bedminster - Phil.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's right, Poppy. Donald Trump emerging after hours of meetings. One more meeting left taking a brief, brief break before here coming out, saying a couple things to the press. We will tell you what they say after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:12:37] HARLOW: President-elect Donald Trump addressed the media moments ago after a series of meetings today. More on that in a moment.

But first, from bitter political enemies to colleagues in the White House? Maybe. Donald Trump may have just buried the hatchet with Mitt Romney. Romney and Trump met today to discuss what the transition team describes as governing going forward. The meeting may have included talk about a secretary of state position, a position that Romney is rumored to be interested in.

Our Phil Mattingly is live there in Bedminster, New Jersey tonight.

And I know, Phil, that Donald Trump did come out just moments ago and speak to the media. What did he say?

MATTINGLY: Yes. That's exactly right, Poppy. Look. These are extraordinarily important meetings. There is no question about it. Potential cabinet picks cycling through the club house behind me. Throughout the day, Donald Trump emerging for a brief break before his final meeting of the day. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Really appreciate, very good, tremendous talent. We are seeing tremendous talent. People that, as I say, we will make America great again. These are really great people. These are really, really talented people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

TRUMP: Yes. We are doing this again tomorrow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is general Mattis going to be --?

TRUMP: Well, we think he is a great guy. He is some great man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

TRUMP: We will hear some things tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Poppy, we will hear some things tomorrow, the thing everybody clues in on. We are waiting to see if he is going to be any announcement. Doesn't appear that there are going to be any tonight. But the big question is what could be coming? We saw those big three announcements yesterday on the national security side of things. We know economic and domestic policy is going to be a focus on the transition team side on Monday and Tuesday. Remember the meetings today, definitely potential cabinet picks. So we will have to see if those might be announced tomorrow - Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes. And that last, you know, big announcement, chief of staff and chief strategist came on a Sunday night as well one week ago. So we will see what we get tomorrow. I do understand that the president-elect met with someone today he is strongly considering as defense secretary, right?

MATTINGLY: Yes. That's exactly right. Look. We have all been focused on the Romney-Trump meeting, the burying of the hatchet. In fact, going back to through the last 15 months and seeing their jabs at one another. But there was a very important meeting. There were a series of meetings most lasting between 15 to 30 minutes. Mitt Romney has lasted an hour and twenty minutes. James Mattis, the retired Marine Corps general, he has lasted over an hour as well. And I'm told that was intentional. James Mattis is somebody whose career and resume are very intriguing to Donald Trump according to a transition office and is absolutely somebody that would be considered at or near the top of his list at the next defense secretary.

Now, you can go through the resume and look back. A number of combat and commands. His final position before he retired in 2013. He was running U.S. central command. That's the command that overseas all U.S. troops in the Middle East. So a lot of experience, a lot of expertise on the very areas that Donald Trump campaigned down. I'm told take that meeting, take general James Mattis very serious as his potential cabinet secretary in that incoming Trump administration, Poppy.

[19:15:39] HARLOW: But if that is the man that he taps, he would need a waiver from Congress to be able to serve, right?

MATTINGLY: Yes. That's an important point. The way things are written right now, to run the Pentagon as a former military officer, you need to be out of uniform for seven years unless the U.S. Congress grants you a waiver. Now, if Donald Trump and if James Mattis is the pick, has something working in his favor. Obviously, Republicans controlled Capitol Hill. The Republican president, if you would make a request for that waiver, likely he would be granted that.

Another important point here. James Mattis has a lot of good will on Capitol Hill. He is well-regarded. He has testified a number of times in front of the relevant committees. So the expectation is that if the waiver were need, he would be able to get that waiver. But it is a hurdle that would exist in front of his potential nomination, Poppy.

HARLOW: All right. Phil Mattingly live in Bedminster. Phil, thank you very much. I guess we will get more from there tomorrow.

Coming up, could Mitt Romney and Donald Trump really go from bitter rivals to White House partners? My panel weighs in next on that as well as his latest spat with "Hamilton" hit Broadway musical of the founding father. I will explain what happened over night next.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:20:30] HARLOW: They have called each other a phony and a stone cold loser. But there's a chance Donald Trump and Mitt Romney could do a lot more than bury the hatchet, perhaps even work together. The two met in meeting today in New Jersey where Donald Trump is interviewing possible cabinet and White House staff picks. Romney is rumored to be interested in the secretary of state position.

Here to discuss that and a lot more, Brian Stelter, CNN senior media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES." And in Washington, Ryan Lizza, CNN political commentator and Washington correspondent for the "New Yorker."

So Ryan, let me begin with you. Sources say that if Romney were to get into government again, this is what he would want. He want to be secretary of state. Interesting, not a financial position on economic position given his background, but a foreign policy position. He didn't mention that possibility specifically today when he spoke with reporters. But he was clear that all they talked about was foreign policy. Would these two men be able to work together, specifically on the policy issues where they differ so much from free trade to Russia? Can they come on the same page on those?

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look. Trump is going to have to fill his cabinet with some people that don't agree with him down the line because he, you know, he ran a campaign on a number of policy issues that don't have widespread support at the sort of top ranks of the Republican Party. So, if he wants to bring in some high profile Republicans, someone like a Mitt Romney, he is going to have to expect that they are not going to agree with him.

I think it would be perhaps the best sign we have seen from Donald Trump if he brought his, frankly, his number one biggest critic that wasn't a Democrat into the administration. It is something he promised to do on election night. And we really haven't seen much of that yet.

HARLOW: He did, but the question becomes whose ideology wins out? And if you just take Russia? I mean, Romney called Russia the greatest geopolitical faux out there in 2012. And Trump says we should get along with the Kremlin and Putin. So who wins now?

LIZZA: And look. His new national security advisor agrees with Trump on most of the big foreign policy issues, especially, notably Russia. So that would be - that would set up a national security team that had big disagreements. And that's why you have a national security council. And if you want to set up a kind of team of rival systems where everyone weighs in and then the president makes the final call, wouldn't be the first time in history that would be done.

But you are absolutely right, Poppy. They have big, big disagreements on foreign policy.

HARLOW: Brian, let's just take a look at the five big picks from Donald Trump so far. They are all men. They are all white. The optics of this are challenging for Donald Trump. Do you think he cares about the optics of this?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think he cares about what is said on cable news. He cares about what is said in print and on TV. So to some degree he cares. I think his aides would say wait until January. Wait until you see the full scope of the appointments. And the judge it. But he also has a choice about what order to rule out these announcements in. So he has choose in to a roll out a number of these initial figures.

Saw an interesting start earlier, you know. You could argue that what he is doing is reflecting the Trump voter, the average Trump voter, 40s or 50s, white, male, not a lot of women as well, but mostly men. And that's what he is doing so far.

HARLOW: because he said I will be the president for all of America.

STELTER: And I think so far, there is a lot of parts of America they are still waiting to see that happen.

HARLOW: So guys, on another note, a spat has broken out between the president-elect and the star of the hit Broadway musical, "Hamilton." This began last night when vice president-elect, Mike Pence, walked into "Hamilton." And at the curtain call, at the end, the star addressed him directly. Let's play what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vice president-elect Pence, we welcome you and we truly thank you for joining us here at "Hamilton, an American musical. We really do. We sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us. Our family, our children, our parents or defend us or uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope that this show inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us, all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Trump then came out and tweeted that the cast harassed Pence and he is demanding an apology.

STELTER: This is the American culture worrying capsulated by a play. You know, yes, there were boos. And you can argue if it was disrespectful or not. However, the cast members came out and said don't boo. There is nothing to boo. We appreciate that you are here. We hope you learned something. These cast members were taking the opportunity they were given to address the vice president-elect. I think a lot of Broadway stars would have done the same thing.

What we have seen here is this breakdown right on typical culture war lines. If you are a Trump supporter, you think it was rude and inappropriate. If you are a Clinton supporter, you think they did a right thing in the right moment. I do think it was troubling to Donald Trump said on tweeter. This should not happened. He called for an apology from the starts of "Hamilton." This is free speech and freedom of expression. And Donald Trump knows that. So that tweet was off-base. That got a lot of people on Broadway uncomfortable. But that's what we would expect from Donald Trump.

HARLOW: What do you make of that, Ryan? To Brian's point, is that just off base or is that more?

[19:25:47] LIZZA: I think the two - your two questions here are related, Poppy, when you were talking about his cabinet so far being white, male and older as well. So far, there's a big chunk of America that doesn't feel reflected in the Trump administration. And I think what these actors were doing were saying, hey, there are a lot of people out there that are scared. There are a lot of non-whites in this country right now that are worried about the direction of the Trump administration and are desperately trying to get through to Trump and Pence and say, you know, give us a sign that some of the worst things that you said in the campaign and some of these appointment that you have made shouldn't allow us to be as fearful as we are.

So, I think that's what's behind that. And what's so disappointing is, instead of maybe taking a little bit of a lesson from that, Trump, the next morning went out and attacked this guy for harassing Pence. Whether it's the right thing to do or not at a play, but there's something real and raw that he was expressing that I think, you know, the president might want to take note of.

STELTER: So Donald Trump needs to go and see "Hamilton." I think that would solve this. HARLOW: On that note, Brian, Ryan, thank you very much.

LIZZA: Thanks Poppy.

HARLOW: There is a lot ahead.

Coming up live at a CNN NEWSROOM, President-elect Donald Trump says his children will take over his businesses. But a law prohibiting gifts from foreign entities could still be a hiccup.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The question is whether you are getting a gift from the foreign government or foreign government controls company or not. You can't say it's a more of gift to a blind trust man by my son. I don't think that's going to fly at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: We will examine the possible conflicts of interest for this next president ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:30:43] HARLOW: Candida Donald Trump ran on the platform of being a billionaire businessman and bringing jobs back. But tow that he is the president-elect, his business ties may loom as a major conflict of interest once he takes office.

Our Cristina Alesci reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You place your left hand on the bible and raise your right hand and repeat after me.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president is sworn to preserve, protect and defend the constitution.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So help me God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So help me God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So help me God.

ALESCI: The conflicts of interest between Donald Trump's businesses and his presidency could spark a constitutional crisis. How? President Trump could run a file of an askewer section of the constitution, the Emoluments Clause.

RICHARD PAINTER, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE ETHICS LAWYER UNDER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: It's been there since the founding of the country and could lead to a very serious constitutional crisis if there would be an accusation.

ALESCI: It bars government officials from accepting payments and gifts of any kind from an any king, prince of a foreign state.

TRUMP: I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike him?

ALESCI: What we do know is that Trump's business relationships spans the globe. And foreign governments can play a big role in private companies in places like China, Dubai and Russia. And there are even questions stateside. According to "The New York Times," the Trump organization is partly on the hook for a $950 million mortgage. One of the lenders? The bank of China, which is Chinese government controls.

TRUMP: You know where the United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump tower. I love China.

ALESCI: So could a mortgage be considered a gift under the Emoluments clause?

PAINTER: Back loan for example, to backup China. If that loan is to be re-negotiated, the question is going to come up, is it an arms- length transaction or is it not?

ALESCI: A lender for example could sweeten the deal by reducing the collateral or lowering the interest rate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Imagine the following situation, you have a large foreign government that has a government owned enterprise. That government decides that it is going to put an extra $100 million bonus in a contract. That would be a violation, even if Mr. Trump didn't ask for it.

ALESCI: Trump's solution is to have his kids run his business.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The children, Don, Ivanka, Eric, they are intelligent. They are really qualified.

ALESCI: But ethics lawyers say that's not a fix.

PAINTER: Well, that won't solve the Emoluments Clause problem. The question is whether you are getting a gift from the foreign government or to foreign government controls company or not. You can't say it's just a gift to a blind trust run by my son. I don't think that's going to fly at all.

ALESCI: It may, in fact, fly for now simply because Trump will be a Republican president with a GOP controlled Congress.

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: Welcome to the dawn of a new unified Republican government.

ALESCI: But, that might not always be the case.

PAINTER: The Democrats got control of the house or Senate --

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: We will go toe-to-toe against the president-elect whenever our values or the progress we made is under assault.

PAINTER: It can lead to a very serious situation and an attempt maybe at impeachment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Cristina Alesci, fascinating. Thank you so much for that.

Coming up, the news ruse. Fake stories filling in your in box and your Facebook news feed. Did they impact the election? Now, Mark Zuckerberg, a Facebook weighing in. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:37:49] HARLOW: Just because it is on the Internet does not make it true, you know that. But it's getting a lot of talk right now. Fake news sites are getting really good at looking like the real thing, but pushing totally false information.

Here are some examples. "The Denver Guardian" falsely reported FBI agents expected in Hillary email leaks found dead in an apparent murder suicide. Not true. Didn't happen.

Another story in the stake of the election suggested first lady Michelle Obama was so concerned about a pending arrest of Hillary Clinton that she was scrubbing references to Clinton from her twitter accounts. Not true again. That story was shared by a top talk radio host to an enormous audience.

CNN's senior media correspondent Brian Stelter has more on what has become a fake news phenomenon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STELTER (voice-over): Did the spread of fake news on the web help elect Donald Trump? We may never know for sure. But researchers are asking the question because made up, false stories are polluting people's Facebook timelines and twitter streams.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This cesspool of nonsense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bogus stories. It's horrible.

STELTER: And getting worse. Even President Obama is raising the alarm.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we are not serious about facts and what's true and what's not, then we have problems.

STELTER: These problems are not brand-new. But they are becoming a lot more prevalent. Here is an example. A story claiming a protester was paid $3500 to make trouble at a Trump rally. This went viral during the campaign. It looked like an ABC News story. But the URL reveals it's a fake registered to a domain in Columbia. It was a hoax, which tricked Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway and Trump's son, Eric, who shared it on twitter.

DAN GILLMOR, PROFESSOR, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY: We have an epidemic of false information racing around using social networks as the excel ray tor.

STELTER: The Pope endorsing Trump? Fake. FOX''s Megyn Kelly fired for backing Hillary Clinton, fake. Clinton linked to crimes by an Anthony Weiner? Fake. But at that well mis-tweeted by retired general Michael Flynn, Trump's pick for national security advisor.

Now, staffers at social media giants are doing some soul searching. Though Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg says Trump's election is not his fault.

[19:40:07] MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO, FACEBOOK: You know, personally, I think the idea that, you know, fake news on Facebook of which is a very small amount of the content, influenced the election in any way I think is a pretty crazy idea.

STELTER: Others disagree. These fake sites are easy to set up and profitable for the creators. Every time we click and share, they make more money. But we are worse off. Now, Facebook and Google are banning fake site for making money off their ad networks. It's a first effort to choke off some of the revenue. The bigger challenge, providing more BS detection tools without threatening free speech.

GILLMOR: Suddenly they have these social societal duties to help us not be faked out all the time and yet I don't want the terms of service of one company two or three companies to have more influence than the first amendment.

STELTER: The root problem is that some people want to believe the lies. That's why the responsibility isn't just Facebook or Google or twitters. We all have to get a little smarter about what we share.

GILLMOR: We have to be relentlessly skeptical of absolutely everything. We have to go outside of our personal comfort zones and read and watch and listen to things that are bound to make our blood boil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: The skeptical, Brian Stelter, skeptic joins me now.

Mark Zuckerberg said, you know, basically, I don't think this affected the election. But today, he came out with the list of things they are doing to try to combat this.

STELTER: Yes. He is shifting his tone, I think recognizing that this is a national conversation especially in media and tech circles. Here is part of what he said overnight in a Facebook post.

He says the problems here are complex. And that's true. He says both technically and philosophically. While the percentage of misinformation on Facebook is relatively small, we have much work ahead on the road map. So this presents in a plan number of things Facebook can do to try to

make these hoax stories show up lower on your Facebook timeline and make the real news show up higher. This isn't about making the fake news go away because people can post whatever they want on Facebook. But it is about making sure that on Facebook, when you are scrolling through your news feed, you are less likely to be tricked by some of its content.

HARLOW: So 20 seconds left. How can people know if it's real or not?

STELTER: There is a number of solution. I think number one, it comes back to come in to credible news sources. Newsrooms like CNN has to do a better job combating the stuff by getting the truth out there. But it is about finding credible, "RELIABLE SOURCES" and about being skeptical overall what you see on Facebook and Tweeter.

HARLOW: No. That they consider the source. Sources have never been more important.

STELTER: Yes. It's getting more and more important.

HARLOW: Brian, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Fascinating report.

Coming up, meet the woman who "Time" magazine dubbed the most powerful woman on the internet by one of Googles top execs says the internet needs a whole lot more women.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:05] HARLOW: In this week's American opportunity, "Time" magazine has dubbed her the most powerful woman on the internet. You Tube CEO Susan Wojcicki was one of the first women hired at Google all the way back in the '90s. Today, she is the only female CEO there. She is not only changing the way that we all consumed content, she is also changing the ratio when it comes to women in tech, not to mention, she is the mother of five.

I sat down with her at Fortune's most powerful women's summit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: You have been described by "Time" magazine as the most powerful woman on the internet. How does that sit with you?

SUSAN WOJCICKI, CEO, YOU TUBE: I think there are a lot of powerful women on the internet, but I wish there were more. I think the internet really could use a lot more women. And one of the things that I have tried to do is use the position that I'm in to try to encourage the next generation of girls to think about the internet as a career opportunity and learn the skills so we can have even more women on the internet in the future and creating the internet and changing the internet and growing and changing our world.

HARLOW: Not only are you a mother of five, you were employee number 16. You were the first person at Google to take maternity leave. Did it even exist when you took it or did you sort of build it?

WOJCICKI: When I first started, I don't think we even really had an HR department. So it wasn't really clear what my maternity policy was.

HARLOW: I'm going to take a little time off.

WOJCICKI: Yes. I think they were very generous. They said why don't you, you know, see what's the industry standard and do what industry standard. But they didn't know because like nobody had ever done it before at the company. And yes, it was -- it was definitely a confusing time.

HARLOW: Fast forward. Now the company has increased maternity leave from 12 weeks to 18 weeks paid for mothers. Fathers get up to 12 weeks paid.

WOJCICKI: Yes. So, when we increased our maternity leave to 18 weeks, we saw the number of women who left Google cut by 50 percent.

HARLOW: That's remarkable.

WOJCICKI: It really is remarkable. And that was really important for us. We wanted to retain women. We wanted to show them that Google cared. That they could be a mother and they could work at Google. We also give the dads, we give them 12 weeks of leave. And I have heard a lot of really positive feedback on that. That it was also really important for them to have bonding time with the baby and with the family.

HARLOW: It's one thing to give the time off, especially for dads. It's another thing for them to actually take it and feel like they can take it. Are the men taking it?

WOJCICKI: They are taking it. They are taking it. And they really benefit from it. I have heard so much positive feedback from Googlers and employees that You Tube who have taken that time.

HARLOW: Now you see more traditional industries, that consulting big, big for consulting firms coming in sort of lock step with you guys.

WOJCICKI: Yes.

[19:50:00] HARLOW: I expect that Wall Street may to do some to some extent. Why has Silicon Valley led?

WOJCICKI: I think Silicon Valley has led on this because Silicon Valley at the end of the day is really focused on talent. It's a talent business, getting the right engineers, the right leaders. There's a shortage of getting the skill sets that we need. And Silicon Valley is also focused on having more women, more diversity. And so in an industry that really values talent and values women, offering maternity leave was a great way to retain women, and to make sure that they, you know see this as an industry where they can be a parent and also be a leader. The U.S. and Papua-New Guinea are the only two countries that do not offer paid maternal leave. HARLOW: What will the cost, Susan, be to society if America doesn't

catch up, frankly, with the rest of the world and do something about this?

WOJCICKI: Yes. Well, I think one of the things that's been interesting is some of the states have actually implemented a paid medical leave program. So California is an example of one. And after they implemented it they ran a study and what they saw is they saw the vast, vast majority of all of the respondents say that the business effect was positive to neutral and they saw increased morale and lower turnover and even more productivity.

HARLOW: Give me your assessment of what parity looks like for women in tech because we are nowhere near that.

WOJCICKI: I look at it from where I am and I see tech as this amazing technology that is changing our world. It's a force that is changing pretty much all parts of our society. And it's really sad for me that we don't have enough women that are part of that. And so I compare this to the revolution where people were able to read and write for the first time.

HARLOW: And that big.

WOJCICKI: And the printing press, right. Yes. I think it is that big in terms of how much our society is being changed. And so you know, if we went back to when people were first learning to read and write and we said oh, you know, only 20 percent of the people who can write are going to be women what would our society look like?

HARLOW: You have made the argument that it actually has a material impact on America's competitiveness.

WOJCICKI: Yes.

HARLOW: Make the case.

WOJCICKI: I mean, if we look a technology, that is one of the biggest drivers that we have of growth. And so we want to be able to have everybody participate in this, or have the skills to be able to participate in this engine of growth. And if we don't have -- if we are not training the next generation, that's a challenge. And so I would recommend that we take computer science and we make it a mandatory skill in high school given that everything is moving digital, everything is requiring computers going forward, to give them the digital literacy skills could be so powerful.

HARLOW: When you look over past decades, we had a higher representation of women in tech in the 1980s. Like when I was born it was better than it is now.

WOJCICKI: Yes.

HARLOW: There's something fundamentally wrong with that, and you have called for a sputnik moment. WOJCICKI: Yes. I mean, so there is a theory out there that one of

the reasons had to do with in the 1980s that when they introduced the home computer that for some reason the boys were more likely to play with a home computer. And so they developed a certain amount of expertise. And so the entry-level classes that's we now have for computer science assume a certain amount of knowledge. Among my five children, which again is like a small data set, but I saw this trend. I saw this trend happen too, and I worked really, really hard to correct it.

HARLOW: Didn't your 10-year-old daughter come home to you and say like I hate computers?

WOJCICKI: Yes. My daughter came home and said I hate computers.

HARLOW: Did you almost fall over?

WOJCICKI: Yes. And I thought, wow, like I have this problem at work and now I have this problem at home. And I thought, well, I have got to focus on the home. I need to make this work. How can I be focus on this externally if I have a problem internally? And so I worked on it and I initially sent her to this computer camp and then she came and she's like, I hate computers even more. And so I was like, wow, this isn't working. The system isn't set up for kids like her to learn how to love computers and see the advantages.

And I think one of the things I saw that I wish more girls would see is I saw it as really creative. I realized, wow, I can make something and it can be used by millions of people all over the world. And that was really, really exciting to me.

HARLOW: How did you get this job? Were there, you know, helpful men helping push you along the way as well?

WOJCICKI: I was really lucky in a lot of ways. I worked hard and I stuck with it.

HARLOW: OK.

WOJCICKI: It was many, many factors. But I was in the right place at the right time.

HARLOW: Sure.

WOJCICKI: And again --

HARLOW: You did rent your garage to Sergey Brin and Larry Page. They did start google in your house.

WOJCICKI: Yes. And that was probably more luck than anything else.

[19:55:00] HARLOW: Was it truly because you couldn't -- you needed help paying the mortgage?

WOJCICKI: Yes. It was truly because I needed help paying the mortgage. HARLOW: Thank goodness you weren't rich.

WOJCICKI: No. Yes, it was great. I had just graduated from business school. I had to pay for business school. And then I bought a house which I thought was amazing I could even afford a house, but I couldn't really afford it. Which is why I needed to rent it to somebody. I benefited by having people -- by having Google's leaders help me and support me to get me to where I am.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: You can see a lot more of my interview with Susan Wojcicki at CNNmoney.com/Americanopportunity.

All right. Coming up for us here live in the CNN NEWSROOM, yes, this election has been divisive. But what is also true is that there are unexpected moments of unity happening all around us. In our America, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:59:30] HARLOW: Tonight, before we go, a look at something wonderful happening in our America. No question this country is divided right now by politics and race, income inequality and religion. But we also come together in some pretty incredible and unexpected ways. We want to make sure we share those things with you as well.

So tonight in "Our America" sixth-graders in Iowa who started what they call a joyologist (ph) club at their middle school right outside Des Moines. These joyologists (ph) help spread happiness to their classmates and also look for ways to reach out to those who are excluded by others.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They want everyone to be happy. And they all deserve that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)