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Top North And South Korean Diplomats Meet In Manila; New U.N. Sanctions Targets North Korea's Major Revenue Stream; Trump Popularity In Russia Sinks; Maduro Meets With His Military; Israel Moves To Close Al Jazeera Office. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired August 07, 2017 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Ministers from North and South Korea meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN meetings as Pyongyang's missile tests dominate talks. Venezuela's president says, he put down a terrorist attack, but those involved called it a rebellion. And a documentary with candid clips calls of Princess Diana is in the United Kingdom, despite the objections of some of his friends and families. Hello, everyone! Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church here in Atlanta. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

The top North and South Korean diplomats have reportedly met face-to- face in the Philippines. South Korean media says the two foreign ministers spoke at a Manila Gala on Sunday. They're in the Philippines for a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. New U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang have been a major focus of the event. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson says those sanctions show the whole world wants a Korean Peninsula without nuclear weapons. He's also in Manila, of course, a short time ago he said, Washington was willing to hold talks with Pyongyang but there conditions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REX TILLERSON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The best signal that North Korea could give us that they're prepared to talk would be to stop these missile launches. You know, we've not had an extended period of time where they have taken some type of provocative action by launching ballistic missiles. So, I think that would be the first and strongest signal they could send to us, is just stop these missile launches.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN International Correspondent, Ivan Watson, is live in Manila and joins us now. So, Ivan, how likely is it that North Korea would stop these missile tests? What would it need to receive in return?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, I think most analysts will say that North Korea is absolutely committed to its nuclear weapons program, and no amount of hardship or pressure would get it to stop that. The ballistic missiles might be a different factor here. And certainly, there's been an unmistakable international message sent to Pyongyang with this unanimous approval of the United Nations Security Council resolution on Saturday that will begin a ban on North Korea in exports of coal, iron, and even sea food which could potentially cut into North Korea's export revenues.

The American delegation and U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, made it clear that they wanted to diplomatically isolate North Korea at this international gathering here in Manila, and the U.N. Security Council resolution has helped with that. The Chinese foreign minister personally gave a message to the North Korean foreign minister here saying that, really, you have to stop these ballistic missile launches. And ASEAN, this organization of ten Southeast Asian nations, they also issued an unusual statement expressing grave concern about North Korea's two Intercontinental Ballistic Missile launches which took place just last month.

That said, North Korea's foreign minister was part of a big and jovial Gala dinner last night here in Manila. He was on stage clasping arms with more than 20 other diplomats from around the world, including the South Korean foreign minister, though they were not standing side by side on stage. Notably, the U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, was absent from that dinner, Rosemary. His handlers -- his aides say it was because he was preparing for a whole raft of bilateral and trilateral meetings that have taken place here in Manila today. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. Interesting, some might say, a missed opportunity but we'll talk about that later. We do understand, of course, that the meeting between the foreign ministers of North and South Korea was brief when they spoke, are you learning any more about what was discussed and whether further talks might perhaps be possible?

WATSON: Well, this was kind of interesting. I literally spoke with the South Korean foreign minister, Kang Kyung-wha, as she was getting into her car to go to that Gala dinner. And I asked her: hey, do you have any plans to meet with your North Korean counterpart? And she said no, not at this time. She also reiterated her strong support and said that she strongly welcome the United Nations Security Council sanctions that were just imposed against North Korea. And now, we're getting reports from South Korean media there must have been some kind of encounter between the North and South Korean foreign ministers at that gala dinner.

We have not been briefed on the length of that interaction, or if anything of consequence was discussed. We do know that year ago, the previous South Korean foreign minister also encountered his North Korean counterpart at this same ASEAN gathering. And that, perhaps, underscores another point: in its push to diplomatically isolate North Korea, the U.S. State Department said that it was proposing that North Korea be suspended from membership in ASEAN's Asian regional forum. That's the meeting that the North Korean foreign minister will attend here later today, the same meeting that the U.S. secretary of state will be attending.

[01:05:34] ASEAN has pushed back on that saying, no, we don't think that's a good idea. We think that in an effort to de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula, it's better to talk than to freeze out the Pyongyang regime entirely, and that's part of why you saw the North Korean foreign minister beaming and smiling while embracing his diplomatic counterparts on that stage here in Manila on Sunday night, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Interesting new strategy, indeed. The new president of South Korea has been pushing the talks with North Korea's (INAUDIBLE) campaign -- full leadership of that country in fact. And we know he spoke with President Trump over the weekend; do we know what came out of that discussion and what will likely happen if North Korea continues launching these missiles?

WATSON: You know, there've been a whole series of constant -- nearly constant communications on a political level, on the diplomatic level, and military level between the U.S. and South Korea. And not just between the heads of state and the top diplomats of the two countries, but also clearly an effort to bring South Korea and Japan together with the U.S. on a whole series of trilateral statements as well. Today, for example, we saw trilateral statement coming from the U.S., Australia, and Japan -- a joint condemnation of North Korea's ballistic missile launches. So, that message is being hammered home by the U.S. and its allies here in the Asia Pacific region.

The big question is: how will Pyongyang respond to it? And we have new statements just emerging in the last 24 hours from North Korean state media warning that it would turn the ocean into a sea of fire if the U.S. continues to pressure North Korea. So, we don't see any signs from the North Korean regime that they're going to back down even when their important trading partner and only real friend, China, has personally delivered a message to please stop these ballistic missile launches. So, at this point, despite the pressure, despite some success that Washington has had in organizing international unity that we've rarely seen in recent years, vis-a-vis the Pyongyang regime, we just don't know if that's going to have any effect in deterring North Korea.

The new sanctions -- Rex Tillers has pointed out it's going to be important to see how implementation will -- whether there will be any follow through. Will Chinese companies, in fact, stop importing North Korean coal and iron as the Chinese foreign minister has pledged? That will be important to see. But North Korea has demonstrated for decades that it is determined to push forward with this nuclear weapons program, despite any kind of economic hardship it may face, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. We've certainly seen sanctions in the past, haven't had much of an impact. We'll see what happens going forward. Our Ivan Watson, joining us live there from Manila in the Philippines, just after 01:00 in the afternoon, many thanks.

I want to talk more on North Korea. I'm joined now from Seoul by John Delury, he is an Associate Professor at the Yonsei University Graduate School of International Studies, and he also met North Korea current foreign minister back in 2013. Thanks so much for joining us. I do want to start with that meeting that you had with Ri Su-yong before he became North Korea's foreign minister. But talk to us about how you would describe him and what does he brings to the table as foreign minister of North Korea? JOHN DELURY, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, YONSEI UNIVERSITY (via Skype):

Well, I mean, he's like many North Korean diplomats that you meet, that I've met over the years. He's smart. He's sophisticated. He's comfortable engaging in English. He's pretty worldly. I mean, he defies a lot of, probably, the stereotypes that you might imagine of a typical North Korean. Obviously, he's an incredibly elite type of person. He's received the best education. He has been posted around the world.

So, you know, I think what's relevant here is that this is an individual who, someone like Secretary Tillerson would be able to engage and talk face-to-face, person-to-person. Not that they could've come to some big breakthrough, but to at least establish that initial contact, and figure out what kind of diplomacy may be possible here. So, I think it's a real missed opportunity since you're not going to get the secretary of state of the United States and the North Korean foreign minister in the same room very often. It seems to me like a big missed opportunity not to have tried to do something there.

[01:10:23] CHURCH: Well, it's not missed yet, is it? Because we understand that the -- that North Korea's foreign minister and the U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, will be in the same room together on day two of the summit. Do you think there's a possibility that the two men will talk? I mean, given that there seems to be a push certainly coming from Rex Tillerson to move in that direction, and certainly from South Korea.

DELURY: Well, I sure hope so. I mean, as you mentioned, there was this very brief -- I heard it was three minutes brief encounter between the North Korean and South Koreans. And it is very important that the government here, while actually so far surprising, people to some extent were taking what's a similar hard line. Ultimately, the president Moon Jae-in is a strong believer in dialogue and wants to get things on a different track with North Korea. So, that's very important, because that gives space for Secretary Tillerson for the United States to have the support of their allies -- South Korea.

If they were to start venturing into some diplomacy but, you know, obviously, it's possible to just strictly for the two of them to talk. And I sure hope that they do, because again, what a squandered opportunity not to do it. It doesn't recognize North Korea as a nuclear state. It's not a reward for bad behavior. It's just a basic starting point for any kind of diplomacy is to talk.

CHURCH: Yes, indeed. And of course, we do know that Rex Tillerson chose not to attend the ASEAN dinner that his people have said that was so he could prepare for the second day of the summit. That certainly appears like a missed opportunity, given all the foreign ministers including North Korea's were in attendance there. Why do you think he didn't attend that dinner?

DELURY: I'm not sure. I recall when he visited South Korea, there was a similar sort of incident where, if I remember right, he didn't go to a dinner. There was no sort of dinner, and the story was that he was working. So, he seems to have certain works-out-things that are not necessarily the way a typical diplomat would do things. And of course, he's very much a typical diplomat; he's just starting in diplomacy. A lot of diplomacies is showing up for these kinds of events, and that face time, and that socializing, and that doesn't seem to be his forte.

CHURCH: Yes. It might not be his forte, but it is certainly all part of this, isn't it, as they try to find some pass forward to peace. John Delury, thank you so much for joining us and giving us your perspective on this, we do appreciate it.

Well, Rex Tillerson also met with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on Sunday, and they discussed the new U.S. sanctions against Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TILLERSON: Russian meddling in the elections is -- it was certainly a serious incident. We talked about it in the discussion we had with Minister Lavrov yesterday and trying to help them understand just how serious this incident had been and how seriously it had damaged the relationship between the U.S. and the American people and the Russian people. That this had created a serious mistrust between our two countries and that we simply have to find some way to deal with that.

SERGEY LAVROV, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF RUSSIA (through translator): We had a lengthy meeting with Rex Tillerson. He was primarily interested, that was what he started with, in details of those decisions that we grudgingly made in response to the law on anti-Russian sanctions taken in the Congress of the United States of America. He provided an explanation. Actually, this explanation was based on the interview of Vladimir Putin to channel Russia; everything was said in detail there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Tillerson says, he told Lavrov the U.S. will respond by September First to Russia's request to remove U.S. diplomatic personnel from the country. Russia's hopes for a better relationship with the U.S. rose when Donald Trump was elected U.S. President, but now the ongoing investigations into Russia's meddling in the U.S. election and new sanctions signed by President Trump have lowered those hopes. CNN's Oren Lieberman has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The champagne flowed freely on inauguration night; Russia (INAUDIBLE) for President Donald Trump on display. Trump was given a fawning press conference.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eccentric Donald Trump.

LIEBERMAN: A favor he returned.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Wouldn't it be nice if we actually got along with Russia? Wouldn't that be -- wouldn't that be nice? LIEBERMAN: In Trump, Russia saw someone whose world view aligned with

their own. Seven months later, the Trump-Putin bromance has come to an end, and with it, the Russian love for the American president; his approval rate sliding.

[01:15:13] The leading weekly talk show saying Donald Trump shot himself in the leg, started limping and lost a good chunk of his powers. Now, they see a weak president, a Congress suffering from what they call Russophobic hysteria, and an expanding Russia investigation -- the Kremlin calls absurd and groundless.

What do you think of President Donald Trump? "I don't think things have changed with Trump in the office. Of course, we expected that there will be changes for good," this woman says. "He gave us some sort of hope, but I think nothing has changed." "My opinion of him has changed a bit," says this woman. "But there's little hope now that our relationship will get better. He behaves more like a businessman, not like a president."

Trump's signing of the sanctions bill, hitting Russia's energy and finance sectors dispelled any notions of the two countries getting along anytime soon; the anger playing out on, where else but on Twitter. Trump tweeting, "Our relationship with Russia is at an all- time and very dangerous low. You can thank Congress, the same people that can't even give us health care."

Trump's frustration against Congress is seen as a submission in Russia. Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, tweeting, "The Trump administration has shown its total weakness by handing over executive power to Congress in the most humiliating way." Trump and Putin have avoided criticizing each other directly. That hasn't saved the American president's image in Russia -- now portrayed as impotent and weak. A very different image of Putin on holidays in Southern Siberia, seizing the moment; the president proudly bearing his own popularity. Oren Lieberman, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And we'll take a short break here. Coming up, authorities in Venezuela say they were facing a rebellion. We'll tell you how they quickly shut it down. And a much-awaited break from the fighting in Syria, an exclusive look inside one Southwestern town.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VINCE CELLINI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Vince Cellini with your CNN WORLD SPORTS headlines. It was a historic win for the Netherlands, whose women national football team claimed their first ever major title; beating Denmark at home in the final of the European championships. Game tied at 2-2 at halftime; the Netherlands' well-orchestrated free kick. Sherida Spitse was able to slide foot it into the back of the net to put the home side up 3-2. But then, in the final moments, the orange put it away. Vivianne Miedema, finding the net 4-2 -- the final score. The Netherlands, the Euro 2017 Champions.

At the Community Shield in Wembley, besides from London, Chelsea and Arsenal meeting. And Victor Moses gave Chelsea the lead, but the Gunners got it back when a careless tackle from Pedro led to a red card and a Gunner's equalizer. Sead Kolasinac, heading in the goal from the resulting free kick that led to a shootout and it was Olivier Giroud who scored the decisive kick; Arsenal, 4-1 on penalties.

[01:20:33] Meanwhile, at the World Athletics in London, the men's marathon, weaving its way through the streets of London. It was Kenya's Jeffrey Karuie, goal with the time of 02:08:27, and that was the best time of the season and Kenya's first gold at these games. That is a look at your sports headlines, I'm Vince Cellini.

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro is celebrating the suppression of what officials call a rebellion. Authorities say there was an attack at a military base on Sunday, and two people were killed. Mr. Maduro says government forces beat terrorism with bullets. Here's our Leyla Santiago in Caracas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The government is calling this a terrorist paramilitary style attack. They say they have several people in custody and they are actively searching for others, and we've even seen the stronger military presence on the streets. Now, this revolt came shortly after a video was posted online by a group of uniformed men, saying that this was a legitimate rebellion; that they wanted to re-establish constitutional order in Venezuela.

According to the government, these were all civilians except for one person involved in this group. And the government also claims that this group was backed by outside influences, specifically naming Colombia and Miami. And this comes on the same day that the now ousted Attorney General, Luisa Ortega Diaz, has spoken out yet again. She's been a very vocal critic of the government. Even though she once supported President Maduro, she is now saying that his actions are illegal, are not legitimate. And she claims that she is still the Attorney General of Venezuela, despite who the new constituent assembly may have named as her replacement.

Remember, this new constituent assembly is very controversial. It is expected to rewrite the constitution and could give President Maduro extended powers. The new constituent assembly has already said that it will establish a truth commission; one that the president said was put in place today and will move forward with getting to the bottom of the political unrest, the violence that is played out the streets of Venezuela. But many in the opposition, the critics fear who that commission will target next. Leyla Santiago, CNN, Caracas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Al Jazeera is denouncing moves by Israel to close its office in Jerusalem; that reaction coming on the news network's official Twitter account. The spokesman for Israel's communications office has requested that Al Jazeera's local office be closed. The communications office is also asking that press credentials be taken away from Al Jazeera journalists working in Israel. Israel accuses the network of inciting violence.

In Southwestern Syria, there is an oasis of calm in the country's civil war, thanks to a cease-fire which is holding for now. It's the result of a U.S.-Russian effort that some locals and government troops are giving Moscow all the credit. Fred Pleitgen has this exclusive look at life in Quanatra.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was one of the most violent battlefields in Syria. Syrian army video shows fighting between government forces and rebel in Quanatra, right on Israel's doorstep. But now, there's a cease-fire. Tanks are parked. Soldiers, relaxed. "The fighting has significantly decreased as the ceasefire," this officer tells me, "you totally notice that. We don't hear shelling anymore, but sometimes groups like the upfront break the troops. Mistral is not part of the agreement. If they start shooting, we have to retaliate."

This is the front line, right in the heart of town. While both the U.S. and Russia brokered this truce, the Syrian government troops feel it's Russia that has the upper hand. "Russia helped has helped a lot," he says. "They laid the ground work for the ceasefire. They have the most power." Quanatra is one of three areas in Syria, where the U.S. and Russia negotiated truces between government and opposition forces.

[01:25:09] The people here are saying, of course, they appreciate the calm since the ceasefire has been put in place. But they also say it's had almost an immediate impact on life here, with more people venturing out and many businesses opening doors once again. A lull on the battlefield means more commotion at the barbershop, where Haddi al-Assad works, and many soldiers and townspeople now come here to get a trim. "We want this to be solved for good," he says. "We just want our lives to be the way they were before."

Farming is also ramping up again. Nassir al-Sayed spent hours in the blazing sun threshing wheat. While he commends both Russia and America for brokering the truce, he's grateful only to Moscow. "If America would've wanted to solve this, they could have done it a long time ago," he says. "Russia is working hard. They are strong allies." From posts on the Golan Heights, Israel is observing things with growing unease.

The Israelis fear that the ceasefire could allow its arched enemies: Iran and Hezbollah, supporters of the Assad government, to move forces into this area. But at the moment, the people in this town aren't worried about bigger Middle Eastern security concerns; they're just enjoying the calm while it lasts. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Quanatra, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Now, we'll take a short break here. Still to come, the focus on fake news stories in the U.S.-Russia investigation. U.S. lawmakers want to know how fabricated stories, from phony Web sites, spread so quickly before last year's election. Plus, Kenya's presidential election is suffering fake news; how voters are struggling to seek the real stories from the phony ones. We'll take a look when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:30:27] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: A very warm welcome back to our viewers joining us on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.

We want to check the headlines for you this hour.

(HEADLINES)

CHURCH: The U.S. deputy attorney general is speaking out about the investigation into Russia's meddling in the U.S. presidential election. This comes after reports a grand jury has been convened as part of the probe.

Our Boris Sanchez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really is a fascinating perspective to listen to from the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Two very important aspects of this interview. Not only does he reveal how he feels about the investigation, in general, and where it is, right now, but also how he feels about Bob Mueller, the man he hired to carry out this investigation after the Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself.

The telling, most telling portion of this is when he talks about the state the investigation is in, and whether or not convening a grand jury to listen to testimony or to review evidence says anything about the state of the investigation, and whether or not there could be recommendation for charges from the special counsel. Rosenstein says, no, this is just a natural part of an investigation that is ongoing. We should not read into the fact that a grand jury is convened.

He goes on and talks about the scope of the investigation. There's recently been some criticism of the special counsel after reports that they were looking into the president's finances in the past. The argument was made by some of the president's supporters that that's out of the scope of the investigation, which -- in which the focus was going to be contacts between the Russian government and people within the Trump campaign, at least that was the allegation. Rosenstein made the case that Bob Mueller is aware of the scope of the investigation and he is staying focused on that. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROD ROSENSTEIN, U.S. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: The special counsel is subject to the rules and regulations of the Department of Justice and we don't engage in fishing expeditions. That order that you read, that doesn't detail specifically who may be the subject of an investigation, because we don't reveal that publicly. But Bob Mueller understands and I understand the specific scope of the investigation. And so, no, it's not a fishing expedition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Another thing that Rosenstein added in the interview was that if Bob Mueller came across something that was outside of that scope and he felt necessitated moving forward with an indictment, he would then to seek authorization from the acting attorney general. Meaning, he would essentially have to go ask Rod Rosenstein for permission to then recommend charges if something were found, again, outside of the initial scope of the investigation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: New Jersey governor and Trump supporter, Chris Christie, says he trusts Special Counsel Robert Mueller will be careful in the Russia investigation. Christie also spoke candidly on Donald Trump Jr's meeting with a Russian lawyer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R), NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: This meeting was ill advised. This is not something that should have happened. And I believe if they had to Don McGahn, the campaign attorney, now the White House counsel, he would have told them that. So I think everybody in retrospect knows this was a bad idea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:35:06] CHURCH: The investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. president election is focusing, among other things, on the role of fake news. U.S. lawmakers are looking at how fake news spread on Facebook and who was involved.

CNN's senior investigative correspondent, Drew Griffin, has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's no question, according to the FBI, that Russia used fake news to try to influence the 2016 election.

UNIDENTIFIED FBI AGENT: They also push fake news and propaganda. And they used online amplifiers to spread the information to as many people as possible.

GRIFFIN: What Democratic congressional investigators want to know is whether Russia colluded with the Trump campaign to spread false information about Hillary Clinton through Facebook.

SEN. MARK WARNER, (D-VA), RANKING MEMBER, SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I commend them because --

GRIFFIN: Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has traveled to Facebook headquarters in California. While he won't discuss specifics of the meeting, he tells CNN he wants to know whether the Trump campaign helped Russians to target fake news to specific Facebook users.

WARNER: I'd like to look into the activities of the Trump digital campaign. I will point out this, Facebook, which basically denied any responsibility around our elections, by the time the French elections took place this spring, they took down 30,000 fake sites.

GRIFFIN: Fake sites spreading fake news, mostly negative about Hillary Clinton. The Democratic theory? Somehow, the Trump campaign and Russians colluded to do it.

(on camera): Go ahead and tell me what we see right here.

(voice-over): This is why it matters. Look at this program that tracks social media. You can clearly see the explosion of completely fabricated stories, fake news, in the months just before November's election.

GABRIELE BOLAND, CONTENT STRATEGIST, NEWSWHIP: In the fall, it just became so much of a problem.

GRIFFIN: Gabriele Boland, content strategist with NewsWhip, a social media analytics firm, says fake news spiked astronomically in the months before the election, mostly fabricated stories about Hillary Clinton or Democrats, with headlines like "Donald Trump protester speaks out: I was paid $3500 to protest Trump's rally." The story is from a fake news site made to appear like the real ABC News. It was created by Paul Warner, who told CNN he writes fake news to make money, but that did not stop his completely fake story from spreading through conservative media.

And there's this story, "FBI agent suspected in Hillary e-mail leaks found dead in an apparent murder-suicide." This story was 100 percent made up, released on a made-up news site called "Denver Guardian." Nothing about it was true. The author admitted that to CNN. Yet, it had nearly 570,000 shares, likes, comments on Facebook and published four days before the election.

The questions Democrats want answered are, how did fake stories from fake websites become so popular so quickly, and did someone pay to boost fake news.

ANNOUCER: Decades of lies, coverups, and scandals.

GRIFFIN: Facebook was a massive part of the Trump campaign's online advertising efforts.

CARTOON CHARACTER: I went to Wall Street -

GRIFFIN: 95 percent of Trump's fundraising ads were placed on the platform, according to campaign officials.

(on camera): But the Trump campaign flatly denied any Russian collusion whatsoever. And, though, not appearing on camera, the Trump campaign official who oversaw all of the Trump campaign's digital advertising, is going on record at CNN to say it simply didn't happen.

GARY COBY, DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING, TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Trump followers had amazing engagement.

GRIFFIN: Gary Coby, the former director of advertising for the Republican National Committee and the Trump for President campaign told CNN by phone, "We'd never put money behind someone else's Facebook page or source." And added, "We did not back anyone's Hillary's stories, had nothing to do with fake Hillary stories, or any Hillary stories that weren't our own."

BRAD PARSCALE, DIGITAL DIRECTOR, TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: We would produce content.

GRIFFIN: Brad Parscale, a lead contractor on Trump's digital campaign, has also denied involvement with Russia. Parscale has been called to testify before the House Intelligence Committee to swear to that under oath.

Facebook has done its own internal review and has reported it did find malicious actors with fake accounts spreading misinformation during the campaign, but said in a statement to CNN, "We've been in touch with a number of government officials, including Senator Warner, who are looking into the 2016 U.S. presidential election. We'll continue to cooperate with the officials as their investigations continues. As we said, we've seen no evidence Russian actors bought ads on Facebook in connection with the election."

Drew Griffin, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:40:00] CHURCH: Voters in Kenya go to the polls Tuesday to elect their next president. And they're being bombarded by fake news.

CNN's Farai Sevenzo shows how the technique is being used in Kenya, including fake reports made to look like they're from CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

FARAI SEVENZO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Look at this slickly produced news bulletin. At first glance, it appears to be a CNN report. But it's not. It is fake. The bogus report cuts from a legitimate CNN Philippines broadcast --

UNIDENTIFIED NEWS ANCHOR: News just in from Kenya.

SEVENZO: -- to a fake segment that falsely claims one candidate is leading over the other in a recent poll.

(on camera): And as elections get closer, fake news is increasingly being used as a campaign tool, targeting news organizations and NGOs. It's a sinister and, frankly, desperate attempt to sway the voters.

(voice-over): The BBC's "Focus on Africa" program was also manipulated last week, edited to include the same false poll as the one in the CNN fake report. The problem is so bad, that Facebook has put out ads in national

newspapers and on its site with tips on how to spot false news.

Both CNN and the BBC called out the reports as fake, warning viewers to be careful. But it's a worrying trend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a video that has come to you on your mobile phone on WhatsApp or on Telegram. So you have no option but to watch it. So you cannot go back to CNN to try and verify that video. So you'll have to depend on fact-checkers or depend on CNN to put out a statement or the BBC to say, no, that's not us.

SEVENZO: And it's not just news organizations being targeted. This doctored "Transparency International" report appeared on social media, accusing an opposition politician of corruption. The Dutch ambassador to Kenya called them out. And "Transparency Kenya" issued this statement denouncing the use of their name and logo to, quote, "spread propaganda for seemingly political mileage."

It's sometimes not easy to spot fakes, especially when they're distributed on social media and is untraceable.

Alphonz (ph) tells us voters must be vigilant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Always try to verify. If you see something online or you see anything as a text message on your Facebook account, if it's even a leaflet or a picture, try to verify, is it real.

SEVENZO: And if you're trying to spot bogus CNN news reports, remember, if it's not on our official channels, website or social platforms, it may well be fake.

Farai Sevenzo, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Be very careful where you get your news from.

Let's take a very short break. When we come back, a heatwave in Europe so intense, it's nicknamed Lucifer. We'll check to see if there's some relief in sight.

Plus, Princess Diana is once again at the center of fight for privacy two decades after her death.

We're back in a moment.

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[01:46:14] CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. People across much of Europe are being warned to stay cool. Temperatures have soared well above 40 degrees Celsius. It's the most intense heatwave in more than a decade.

Our Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now with the forecast.

So, Pedram, any relief in sight?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It looks like it will finally be in place here, Rosemary, across Thursday and Friday into parts of southwest Europe where the extreme heat has been the most prominent. All that heat will want to shift off to the north and east. So people that haven't seen extreme heat, such as areas, say, working its way into Ukraine, that is a region that will see tremendous warmth in the coming couple of days.

But here across the southern portion of Europe, actually warmer than Northern Africa in recent days. Of course, multi-million impact as far as the people that have been impacted by this. Really, your body does a fantastic job cooling itself off. Sweating accounts for about 22 percent of the single largest way your body reduces heat from itself. You want to drink several liters of water. But avoiding high-protein foods is very important as well. Your body generates 50, almost 100 percent more heat energy when trying to digest protein- based food, such as steak or chicken, on a hot day versus vegetables. But also protecting your skin from the sun is another element that's important, not just from sunburn, but once you get sunburned, your body cannot sweat as efficiently. So keep that in mind with these temps.

And look at this days. We're taking middle 40s the last several days. Middle 30s is what is expected for this time of year. The cooler air is indicated in the green. But also, the yellow, that begins to push in here by mid week. Again, the heat builds in for places such as Kiev over the next several days. In Rome, you see a nicer trend going into this upcoming weekend.

Here's what's happening over in Japan. Typhoon Nori (ph) is still hanging in there. This is a category 1-equivalent storm now. We're talking about 18 consecutive days since this storm formed and 14 consecutive days since it's a category one or great, typhoon. That opens the record books as only the second storm in the last five decades that's lived such a long period as a typhoon without weakening. And we think sometime within the next 24 hours, as we approach 15 days, it will begin the process of moving over the Japanese and out. A lot of rainfall will be expected as well in eastern and parts of central Japan over the next couple of days. But, again, it looks like finally improving conditions. But going to see some expansive travel plays across parts of Japan, as well.

CHURCH: A very comprehensive weather segment there.

Many thanks to you, Pedram, as always. Appreciate it.

JAVAHERI: Thank you.

CHURCH: Still to come, it raised protests from friends and family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL BURRELL, FORMER BUTLER TO PRINCESS DIANA: It's almost like reading her diary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Private taps of Princess Diana were broadcast for the first time in the U.K. on Sunday. More on the controversial documentary after this break.

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[01:53:05] CHURCH: As we approach the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana's death, controversy continues to surround her life. Private video diaries show the Princess of Wales speaking candidly with her voice coach about the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles.

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DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES: Everybody knew about the bulimia in the family and they all blames the failure of the marriage on the bulimia. And that's taken some time to get them to think different. I said I was rejected. I didn't think I was good enough for the family, so I took it all on myself. I said I couldn't go to alcohol, which would be obvious. I could be anorexic, which would be even worse. I decided to the more direct thing. And I chose to hurt myself instead of hurting all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Friends and families sought to keep the private tapes from airing, saying it was a betrayal of her memory. The tapes were shown in Britain on television for the first time Sunday.

CNN's Max Foster has more now from London.

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MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These were supposed to be her private moments. Diana, Princes of Wales rehearsing with her voice coach, relaxed, her guard down, sharing some of her most intimate thoughts.

DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES: (INAUDIBLE)

FOSTER: The tapes, recorded by her voice coach, Peter Settelen, in 1992 and 1993, at Kensington Palace, and never before seen in the U.K. A part of the Channel 4 documentary, "Diana, In Her Own Words."

But they're also a source of great controversy, with family and friends saying the airing of these moments in Britain amount to a betrayal.

The tapes were first discovered in 2001 at the home of the former butler, Paul Burrell. He, too, is speaking out against the broadcast.

BURRELL: It's almost like reading her diary. That's wrong. That shouldn't be. It can only upset Prince William and Prince Harry. I understand it's a source of new information, but I think it's a step too far. [01:55:09] FOSTER: Marcus Rutherford, attorney for Settelen,

defended the release of the recordings in a statement saying, "He was not her priest, doctor, therapist or lawyer."

Channel 4 says it made the decision to broadcast them as they're important to the historical record, saying, quote, "We careful considered all the material used in the documentary. And though the recordings were made in private, the subjects covered are a matter of public record and provide a unique insight into the preparations Diana undertook to gain a public voice and tell her own personal story."

In the tapes, some of which have already aired as part of a U.S. documentary in 2004, Diana talks openly about her marriage to Prince Charles.

DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES: Before we got married, I was brought up to think when you marry someone, you love them.

FOSTER: Diana speaks freely on the recordings about their dull sex life and hints about the prince having an fair with Camilla Parker- Bowles. She also candidly reveals her attempt to get the queen's help concerning the marriage difficulties.

The royal family has declined to comment on the recordings.

Almost 20 years have passed since her death on August 31, 1997, but no matter which side of the controversy surrounding the release of the documentary people may fall, one thing is clear, the Diana in these videos is so very vibrant, her essence so real, it's almost impossible not to be taken back to the time when her every move seemed to captivate the world.

Max Foster, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Thanks so much for your company here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.

George Howell will be with you on the other side of this short break. Don't go anywhere.

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