When CNN first broadcast the unverified audio of the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, it was with all the sturm and drang of breathless breaking news. The audio led almost every hour and was the biggest story of the day.

What a difference a day makes. The language coming from “New Day” anchor Michaela Pereira Wednesday morning is much more cautious. “Do you think it’s authentic?” she squeaked to two law enforcement experts, both of whom believe it is a hoax:

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Even if the audio ends up being authentic, the fact that CNN is now concerned over its authenticity and laying the groundwork to claim they were always skeptical, tells you how irresponsible the network is. The prejudicial audio never should have been aired prior to authentication. But this is exactly the kind of incendiary behavior we have come to expect from the news network that disgraced itself more than any other during the George Zimmerman affair.

CNN’s timing of the release made perfect sense. The leftwing network dropped the audio the day after treating the funeral of Michael Brown as though he was a head of state. With the death porn concluded and the Ferguson streets quiet, CNN needed to fill the race-baiting vacuum with something.

This is the second time CNN has been unforgivably irresponsible with audio. Using unintelligible audio of George Zimmerman’s 911 call, CNN falsely claimed Zimmerman had described Trayvon Martin as a “fucking coon” before fatally shooting the teenager. CNN not only fabricated this evidence against Zimmerman, after it was proven Zimmerman didn’t use the racial slur, CNN continued to lie to its audience and claim he had.

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC