President Donald Trump has tweeted a short video clip of him wrestling a person with the CNN logo for a head.
The clip is an altered version of Trump’s appearance at a WWE wrestling event in 2007, in which he “attacked” franchise owner Vince McMahon in a scripted appearance.
The animation appears to have been posted to a pro-Trump internet forum earlier in the week.
CNN later accused the US president of inciting violence against the media.
One panellist on ABC’s morning show, Ana Navarro – a Republican Trump critic and CNN contributor – said "it is an incitement to violence. He is going to get somebody killed in the media."
But Homeland Security Adviser Thomas Bossert, who had appeared earlier on the network, said: "No-one would perceive that as a threat."
The clip was submitted to a Donald Trump forum on the social media site Reddit four days ago, where it became one of the most popular posts.
After the president's tweets, Reddit users expressed disbelief at the president’s use of the clip.
It was also retweeted by the official presidential Twitter account, @POTUS, operated by the White House.
Trump has repeatedly clashed with the CNN news network, which he calls "fake news".
CNN's top White House correspondent Jim Acosta, who has been critical of the White House's attitude to the press, simply tweeted: "Isn't pro wrestling fake?"
