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Head: Russian and Turkish presidents meet in Ankara; Russia-backed Facebook ad referenced Black Lives Matter; Macedonia: the world capital of fake news; The extraordinary life of Hugh Hefner; Supply deliveries in remote part of Puerto Rico. Aired at 11-12p ET

Aired September 28, 2017 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:26] BECKY ANDERSON, CONNECT THE WORLD, CNN: A cruel baffled neck much need a bit some touch in Puerto Rico with the latest White House move

help the stricken island? We are live on the ground there and in Washington for more. Still ahead this hour a threat and a looming deadline

Iraq orders international airlines to stop flying to Iraqi Kurdistan, the details on that, up next. Plus how fake news travels fast. We are in the

Vulcan town some say impacted the U.S. Election.

7:00 in the evening in our Middle East programming. I'm Becky Anderson. Welcome to Connect the World from Abu Dhabi. We begin tonight in Puerto

Rico where recovery from what was a devastating hurricane has be slow and very painful. It's been eight days since the storm made landfall, the

situation for many islanders is desperate. People running out of food and water. There's lots there but no way has it seemed to get it to them. To

try to help truck drivers delivering essentials are no longer under a nighttime curfew, that is a huge step since distributing food and supplies

is critical for getting the island up and running. We know that 9500 large shipping containers are stuck at the port of San Juan right now. U.S.

President Donald Trump has lifted restrictions on ships headed to the island in the hope that will allow more aid to flow more freely.

So Washington finally made that move. That is where CNN White House reporter Jeremy Diamond is for you tonight. Trump has taken a lot of

criticism for his reaction to the Puerto Rico disaster which after all is a domestic one. He is visiting next week is the White House at this point

playing catchup?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Certainly the decision to lift the Jones Act this morning came as a surprise for many given that yesterday

the President and his administration was saying that there was not a need to lift the Jones Act. Just a quick primer for our audience, the Jones Act

forbids any non-U.S. built and U.S. owned and U.S. Flagged ships from transporting goods between U.S. Ports. And that designation was lifted

after hurricane Harvey and Irma which affected Texas and Florida. But yesterday the department of homeland security and the President were

suggesting that the requirements for a waiver to be issued which is a national defense need or a need for -- that there were not enough U.S.

flagships in the area to provide the goods that those requirements had not been met and this morning we saw the President come out announcing he would

be waiving the Jones Act for this time being. The department of homeland security issuing that in the news release this morning. But the Presidents

is also trying to show that he is on top of this after he received criticism he was more focused on this controversy over the national anthem

protest in the NFL. The White House has been putting out a series of images of the president speaking with the Puerto Rican governor showing

that he is on top of the situation and we are expecting the President to head to Puerto Rico for the first time on Tuesday.

ANDERSON: This Jones Act waiver, a political rather than a practical act after all there was criticism that Texas and Florida got this waive whereas

Puerto Rico hadn't until today.

DIAMOND: That is right. This White House was under a lot of political pressure to waive this because of the optics of waiving it for two states

in the U.S. mainland and not waiving it for the U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico. But this was also because of a request from the Puerto Rican

Governor Rossello who requested this formally from the Trump administration. SO this morning, they decided to go through with it.

There will be questions during the White House briefing about whether this was done because of those political reasons or if the department of

homeland security determine that those waiver conditions were met.

[11:05:03] ANDERSON: Thank you for that. You understand where we are on the story. Let's get you to what's happening on the ground in Puerto Rico.

We have got eight correspondents covering the recovery effort including CNN Bill, he traveled to the island of Vieques about 80 kilometers south of San

Juan. People there cutoff and desperate to get in touch with their love ones. Have a look at this report.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Landing at what is normally exotically paradise. The first impressions are shocked and dread. It looks like a

war zone. With every lush tree stripped and broken. The tarmac littered with shattered planes. We catch a ride through the wreckage to the town's

center where the deputy mayor tells me all of the 10,000 residents survived the storm but a few of the most failed have died since. After charity

called Vieques love brought in a few satellite phones. The battered locals waiting for their first contact with the world in a week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're running out of food and water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEIR: That is the kind of heartbreaking soul-draining scene getting played out again and again as people look at her cry. As she gets on a sat phone

for the first time, it crushes your soul to watch that. This is the line. This a two-hour line of folks waiting to get proof of life to a wife or

husband or father. It's rough. This is an officer who lives on the island. He is from the state Puerto Rican National Guard, but he can't

carry a gun for security until he is activated and bureaucratic red tape is holding that up. They drive around in speaker truck letting people know

when water is coming, if water is coming. I just spoke to former president of the senate here in Puerto Rico, current Senator who gave me the most

impassioned plea yet from an official that they need in general, they need ships and they needed help right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDUARDO BATIA, PUERTO RICO SENATE: This is something who needs someone who knows how to distribute goods in a middle of almost a war zone.

WEIR: You're making a plea for Marshall Law?

BATIA: I am making a plea for Marshall Law. I am making a plea for three, four, five days where we can distribute diesel, water, food and six days

after the hurricane and horrible scenario in Puerto Rico. And we need to follow certain amount of law and right now it's no man's land. After 7:00

p.m. It's no man's land and that should stop.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lost everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEIR: Bill Weir, CNN Vieques, Puerto Rico.

(END VIDEO)

ANDERSON: Unbelievable. For you form Vieques all across now to Boris Sanchez who is in San Juan. You have heard Bill's report. It's desperate

in Vieques. What's the latest where you are there in San Juan?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN NEWSROOM HOST: Hi there Becky. There is frustration in the streets here just outside the outskirts of San Juan especially since

people have gotten word about some 9,500 containers full of precious resources for communities that need them, things like food and water,

clothing, even cars and ice as well, we're standing outside the ice plant in San Juan since we arrived very early this morning there was a massive

line. Dozens and dozens of people standing outside for a fifth consecutive day hoping that this would be the day they would get their hands on some

ice or food and medication. But as has happened the past few days the owner of the plant came out earlier and told them essentially that it

didn't have enough fuel to keep the plant running. There would be no ice again today. Many were angry. They said they would come back and try

tomorrow. But the situation is continuing to get worse, because the precious resources that many of these people were given after hurricane

Maria, potable water and fuel is starting to run out. There is a gridlock of problems on this island. Some of the reasons that we heard that those

containers are not getting re they need to go, one has to do with not having enough truckers to get them out of the port. We have heard several

different reasons as to why the truckers are unavailable.

[11:10:00] One of the mayors here in Puerto Rico is telling us that they don't have access to communication so they can't coordinate those truckers

well. We are also hearing that they don't have enough fuel. Part is that there's a shortage of cash on the island, there is very little electricity

so a lot of banks and ATM's are shut down. You can't use credit cards and take out cash, to use a gas station that might have electricity where there

are already immense lines. So putting together the puzzle that is getting relief to places like this outside San Juan is immensely difficult and from

what we have heard from the mayor of San Juan she is having a hard time getting FEMA to de-centralize its operation and bring resources to those

people who need it most inside municipalities like this one Becky.

ANDERSON: A lot of unanswered questions. Still days on since this storm made landfall. Boris thank you for that. I want to get you up to speed on

the other stories on our radar right now. In Indonesia more than 130,000 people have been evacuated because of threat of volcanic eruption on the

popular resort island of Barley. The volcano last erupted in 1963 and killed more than 1500 people. Thailand's former Prime Minister (inaudible)

has been sentenced to five years in prison. She was found guilty of mishandling controversial subsidy plan that lost billions of dollars. She

fled the country last month. Palestinian authorities being admitted as the world's largest police organization. Israel which push to delay the vote

strongly condemned the move and passed by more than two-thirds and that was what was required. A lot of stories on the website including more on the

major regional stories that we report 24 hours ago, Saudi Arabia lifting the ban on female drivers. Read more on some of the potential impacts at

CNNmoney.com.

To a story we have been having for you here on Connect the World, one that could reshape the entire Middle East, the Kurdish vote for independence

from Iraq has sparked a territorial crisis. Authorities in Baghdad promised they would take action and now they are just 24 hours from now

Iraq will suspend international flights to and from the Iraqi Kurdistan region. The Iraqi government has demanded Kurdish leaders hand over

control of the Erbil airports. The suspensions will not affect military or U.N. flights.

After spending most of the day in an oil rich city that is crucial to both the Kurds and the government in Baghdad. What did you witness there?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It feels incredibly tense. It is contested between the Kurdish region and Baghdad but the

first days that we went were the referendum and you could feel people bracing themselves. It felt almost liking a ghost town. It was incredibly

empty and there were signs that people felt there would be some kind of retribution of either side especially as just south is where the Iraqi

force are due to mobilize to, if the Iraqi parliament gets their way. That Iraq's parliament vote on and put into place on Friday evening if the

results of the referendum aren't walked back by the Kurdish Regional Government. Here in Erbil, the concerns are all around the possibility of

a blockade and this is what's happening down at the airport. Becky, take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I live here as a humanitarian worker for the past three years, almost three years. We have organizations and we're

refugee crisis but today we're in the airport because we're leaving due to the referendum. They're shutting down the airport and all of that. It's

just a little bit me having two boys and not want to take the risk with the kids, but I would be fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELBAGIR: People scrambling to try and get out of here ahead of that deadline lapsing. It's about what's going to be allowed in Turkey, Iran

and Iraq last Friday signed an agreement and based off that Turkey's president is saying they will deal only with Baghdad in terms of the oil

revenue the flow of the crude oil out of the Kurdish region via Turkey but also raising the potential for shutting that border through to which so

much of the goods that come here in Kurdistan flow through, Becky.

[11:15:10] ANDERSON: That was in Erbil and thank you Nima. Suspension on Nima has been discussing would affect 15 International Airlines. Many of

them offering multiple flights per week to the region. Have a look at the live flight radar if you will. Already -- it' looking pretty empty, isn't

it? Many airlines had fly Dubai and Qatar, and said they will comply with suspensions. Still to come tonight, the man who shocked America in the

1950s and brought sexual freedom on to the table literally. The magazine that started it all in the multimillion dollar empire. Hugh Hefner leaves

behind. And change in challenges between celebrations over the Kurdish referendum is shifting political tides in involving Russia, Turkey, Iran

and Syria at this hour. We take a closer look how the changing state of the world as we know it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: This might look like any other busy airport but that is all about to change in almost exactly 24 hours from now. International

airlines will stop flying to this Erbil, the capital City of Iraqi Kurdistan, Baghdad has given authority until Friday to hand over the keys,

hand over the airport after this week's landslide vote to break away from Iraq. A story we have been and will continue to watch very closely on

Connect the World. Welcome back for those just joining us. You're always welcome. The fallout from what is this controversial referendum in Iraqi

Kurdistan rippling across the region causing furious reaction from neighbors like Turkey for example, struggling with its own Kurdish

population demands Turkey of course strongly opposed to an independent Kurdistan and even sent troops to join Iraqi soldiers during a military

exercise, maybe Turkish/Iraqi border in response to this referendum. I want to bring in Ryan Crocker in to help us decrypt all of this. He knows

the Middle East like the back of his hand, having serve as the ambassador to Iraq, Syria and Lebanon among (inaudible). Even recalled out of

retirement, remember by President Obama to become America's top diplomat in Afghanistan. Thank you for joining us. Let's do the headline this hour,

airports in Kurdistan will be forced to shut down in less than day from now. What does that tell us about the seriousness of this situation and

its likely consequences?

RYAN CROCKER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: Well, thanks for having me Becky. What it tells me is that there is a serious issue here that has to

be managed. We really need to get beyond the Bumper sticker statements. I personally think it was a mistake for the

United States to come down that hard against the referendum at a time when, you know, it clearly was going to take place. That may have emboldened

Baghdad to take a more harsh posture than they otherwise would. But in any case, we got to do now is manage it with Turkey, manage it with Iraq, Iran

and United States is the only power that really can do that. What we don't need is another confrontation.

[11:20:45] ANDERSON: Right. And you're absolutely right. This region does not need that but we must manage it you say. With Iraq, Turkey and

Iran. Two of those three the U.S. has, I would say slim to no relations with when it comes to asking or at least hoping that there will be some

engagement which will suite them. Look, at the heart of all of this, the city of - our correspondent is just back from there, its Kurdish controlled

in Iraqi government territory. The population consist of Kurds, Arabs and Turks in this city, also in center of Iraq's oil industry importantly. How

strategically important is this city for essential government in Baghdad?

CROCKER: Well, it certainly is important for the central government, for the Arabs, the Kurds and the Turkmen. Before we go screaming into the

night here with prophecy of doom. Look what happened during the referendum. There was no trouble there. Not that far away there was an

incident for which the perpetrator, one of the popular mobilization units apologize. There's a very capable governor there that Baghdad tried to

fire. We need to figure out what's the way forward here. I did use the word manage not fixed, not solved. It could only be managed right now.

ANDERSON: Yes. No. Ok. You're absolutely right to impress that point. So how do you manage it? What should the strategy be at this point? Look,

Turkey and Iraq have joint military drills near the Turkish/Iraqi border following referendum results. Their strategy may just be scaring the Kurds

at this point. What do you think the strategy should be?

CROCKER: Well, the Kurds don't scare easily as I think everyone knows. In the case of Turkey first you need to have some sober analysis here. The

Turks are making some pretty tough statements. But look at the reality behind it. They have actually a very good relationship with Masoud Barzani

and his Kurdish Democratic Party. I don't worry that much about the Turks. They are much more focused on the YPG in Syria for a fundamental reason.

I'm sorry after all these abbreviation out there. That is a PKK affiliate, The Kurdish Worker Party that has killed a lot of people inside Turkey.

Their allied, Masoud Barzani does not fit along with the YPG, therefore Turkey's objective ally. Figure out where you can move forward, or where

you can make it a little bit better or how you can prevent something bad happening.

ANDERSON: That is fascinating. Yes. You're right. Let me just --let me just remind our viewers. The Turkish President called this treachery when

this referendum was held. He said we could turn off the valve o the oil pipeline that effectively is the lifeline for the Iraqi/Kurdish population

and their economy. So he is making some points but as you say perhaps that is an easily -- more easily managed situation than whom? The Iraqis and

the Iranians?

CROCKER: Well, I would be very watchful of the Iranians. They have a capacity to make a lot of trouble in the Kurdish region and elsewhere. And

I'm concerned that the might do precisely that.

[11:25:07] Look Becky, the Iranians have a different agenda than Iraq. They want to see whatever they say to the contrary, they want to see a

permanently destabilized and challenged state so that whoever governs in Baghdad they cannot carry out an invasion of Iran as happened in 1980. But

we in the west forgot where the rebel was, an Iran/Iraq war. Well, there was, it killed millions on both sides and so when Iranians look at Iraq,

that is their existential fear. I would expect they would make trouble on this, keeps the government off balance, and keeps the Kurds off balance.

For them, instability is good. It means they don't face another possible theoretical war with Iraq.

ANDERSON: Ryan, it is pleasure having you on and good to have you. Come again. Thank you. Latest world news headlines just ahead, plus in the

next few minutes the Turkish President Erdogan will host a very significant guest in the meeting could have implication far beyond just Russia and

Turkey. We are talking, the Middle East here and we will explain in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:00] BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: But it will dominate this raging debate?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think, Becky, there will be -- there will be two main issues, the first one is that issue

of the Iraqi Kurdish referendum, which of course the Turks and Erdogan in particular are adamantly against.

And they have announced that you know, they're advising their citizens at this point not to travel to Northern Iraq. And the issue will be the issue

of Turkey's very controversial and unprecedented involvements alongside Russian and Iranian troops in northern Syria, that the Turks have brought

into this de-escalation zone process.

This peace process so started by the Russians and the Iranians to impose some stability in various areas of Syria and for the first time, shortly as

I said, Turkish troops will be standing alongside Russian and Iranian troops in northern Syria to impose peace there, which is of course,

unprecedented for a NATO country, which of course Turkey is.

ANDERSON: Bring you back to the images of the Russian fighter jet being shot down in the strained relations between Ankara and Moscow, it seem only

months ago. It's more than that but it does seem just like yesterday, what are shared interest that are helping to ease the tensions now?

CHANCE: I mean the results of -- of shared interest but you're right to point out the relationship between Russia and Turkey, between these two men

of Vladimir Putin and President Erdogan has been has -- been a real roller coaster.

I mean reaching the decks of that right in December 2015 when my plane was shot down by Turkish interceptors, but they have managed to kind of rebuild

the relationship significantly since then. The hearts of that lies, as you mentioning not friendship but interest, Russia was a major energy supplier

of course to Turkey.

Its tourists fill the Turkish chauffeurs and the Turkish five-star hotels around the country that was all suspended, of course, is that there is an

aspect of it was suspend it, when it comes to you with the sanctions that Russia imposed on Turley after the shoot down of that.

And I think this has been a general come together to try and sort ready bridge that economic divide. And also I think we have to talk about the

process that Turkeys engaged in the moment in by which it cutting its back gradually on its traditional western allies, you know, moving alongside the

Russian position in Syria, for instance and moving more into the Russian orbits are whole range of issues.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. Matthew, thank you. Matthew Chance in the anchor for you. One thing not likely to be on their agenda is a controversy and

CNN can bring you an exclusive update on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Now our sources say the Black Lives Matter movement was referenced at least one Facebook ad brought a bot by Russians during last

year's election and specifically tag these cities of Baltimore and Ferguson in the U.S.

So the ads promoted gun rights and warn about undocumented immigrants. But here's what's new, it seems they aim to highlight problems in U.S.

democracy rather that promote one particular candidate over another.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: CNN's Dylan Byers broke the story and joins us from Washington. What seems to be the aim here, Dylan?

DYLAN BYERS, CNN SENIOR REPORTER FOR MEDIA AND POLITICS: Well, the overall aim was really to sort of fuel instability and partisanship, and political

chaos really in the United States basically to amplify the divisions that already exist as a means for undermining democracy.

So when you look at Black Lives Matter ad being specifically targeted at cities like Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore to cities that were really the

hotbed of protests in response to police shootings of African-American man, you begin to understand the level of sophistication of these Russian

empires had.

ANDERSON: Why?

BYERS: In terms of really pushing our buttons and exposing some of those cultural and political rips.

ANDERSON: Dylan, how then does this all might this inform the investigation going on into Russian interference in the election campaign?

BYERS: Well, as they look -- as they look at more of these ads and of course the Special Counsel Robert Mueller has these ads, well, the Senate

and House Intelligence Committee are still waiting to get the ads from Facebook.

But as both camps look at these ads, they can begin to understand just how sophisticated the nature of his ad buyers work just how well these Russian

ad buyers understood, like I said these cultural flashpoints, and then what else they can do is they can begin to understand.

[11:35:00] And see if there were any sort of corollaries between ad buys that were made by these Russians and ad buys that were made by the Trump

campaign itself.

There is a lot of speculation on Capitol Hill that the Trump campaign may have helped out the Russians in terms ad buys, vice versa. Obviously that

is just speculation for now but that is something that investigators are going to be looking at.

ANDERSON: Dylan Byers is on the story for you. Dylan, thank you. More on this just ahead when we visit what some call the world's biggest exporter

of fake news, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Fake news made the headlines today -- excuse as Twitter steps forward cooperating the U.S. lawmakers investigating possible Russian

meddling in last year's elections.

But while everyone talks about Russia, the global capital of fake news may not be there. We're going to take you to the Balkan nation of Macedonia to

a little known town where fake news is big business right in the heart of it all. CNN's Isa Soares untangles the story for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Talked away in the hills of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is a small city of Veles, a place many

thousand of miles away from Washington that whose voices echo across America. So called fake news can have real world...

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Fighting the fake news, it's fake, phony.

SOARES: False propaganda and it builds up to the U.S. election over 100 fake news websites were trace to the city. Today, fake news produces and

still pumping out false headlines and in a shocking revelation, one revealed as their next target, 2020.

Have it about (Inaudible) that are open, just in, Sarah Palin hospitalized, can stop the stories that are really untrue, completely fake. Bill Clinton

loses in an interview in a message that matter.

The stories on this particular website are fake but other websites are actually going to further. They are mixing fact and fiction.

That is a lie, and that's mixing in with news in the main political page, and someone in the U.S. could potentially be influenced by that. And that

makes you want to click and then makes you want to share.

Once that owners make the money from advertising, platforms like Goggle's absence makes ad on their sites. Every page visit adds a fraction over

cent and as you can imagine, it quickly ads up with hundreds of thousands of clicks.

[11:40:00] Then to drive traffic, fake news producers use Facebook and post late to their stories in fan groups often on the fake profiles, all in the

hope that they will go viral.

When we spoke to Facebook and Google, they told us they are actively identifying and blocking counseling to fake news. On the ground producers

are adapting, although many are reluctant to speak openly about an industry as we learned at a local cafe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you create Facebook profiles by yourself, Facebook is going to take it down in the next 24 hours.

SOARES: So how do -- how do you get around that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You go and buy real profiles...

SOARES: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... from kids, then we change the names to American persons.

SOARES: Those profiles exist? And then you change it to American names.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Small kids, they've never had two euros. You give them two euros, they give you the profile. It's all about the money.

SOARES: Money is clearly the driving force here and at the very top, there are people making a lot of it. We're driven out of the city's center and

take him to an industrial part of town. All to protect the identity of a man who says he is one of the pioneers of fake news in Veles.

This is the first office, wipe it all. Michael (ph) has wiped. He is locked in to his website and I have noticed that it's not your own name.

It's someone else's profile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's we are doing all the time and we are taking -- take numbers to fake accounts so I can create more and more people.

SOARES: Right, so here you are Jessica. A lot of people come in and I saw a lot people sharing as we're talking, a lot of people here logged in a

place. What are you working on now? What are you looking help through now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My primary goal is to prepare a site like I was having before to be ready for the next election in America.

SOARES: U.S. election?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the U.S., yes.

SOARES: How do you prepare for thinking like that? What are you looking at?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Simple, you need to make million front pages. And like you see Jessica, it's fake or a lot of fake pages, a lot of fake numbers

because at the beginning, you need to do that to make people like your page. I know how it is to build big site, and I will do it again.

I can't tell how much many have fun in one day, maybe it was around $2,000 to $2,500 at one day. This kind of money to earning per day, you need to

have maybe a front page more than half a million -- million people.

SOARES: What makes a good clickable story in your opinion?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you need to keep find interesting topic. Well, Donald Trump is interesting for everyone. Even in my country, everything

he said, it's worth listening or he's an interesting face. When you have million fans, if you post something, even if it's not interesting, a lot of

them will open just to see what it is and you will get money.

SOARES: You don't know if it's true or not?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know and I don't care.

SOARES: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because the people are reading even if they open, I'm getting paid.

SOARES: Are you proud of what you have achieved?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm 22 years, I was earning more than someone that will never earn in his entire life with the standard that we have in my country.

So yes, I'm proud.

SOARES: Later at the opening, with the news the arch of Veles, we see how (Inaudible) generation spends his money. He has an art of most daring and

we can't explain literally local tradition (Inaudible) around. Even the mayor of Veles has made his appearance, this (Inaudible).

With the celebration's over, the mayor tells us with the things office operative of their industry. Young fake media producer just put Veles on

the map -- on the world map. Are you proud of that?

MAYOR ACE KOCEVSKI, VELES, MACEDONIA: (Speaking Foreign Language)

SOARES: It may be illegal but is it morally right?

KOCEVSKI: Speaking Foreign Language)

SOARES: Is there a bigger topic behind you guys who is influencing them to influence the U.S. election?

KOCEVSKI (through a translator): I think it's more about the money. (Speaking Foreign Language).

SOARES: The allure of fast cash is attract within the country but the average summary is literally more than $400 a month.

[11:45:00] This man promises young Macedonians, he can change their fortunes. Do you think they look up to him as a role model?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it sounds.

(CROSSTALK)

SOARES: He teaches them on how to run a click bait websites. At what point did you start getting students knocking on your door or calling you

and say I want to create to fake news website, teach me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In fact, the moment some my students discovered that they can earn money writing about politics. It spread like fire. Right

now, at least four of my students are millionaires.

SOARES: Four of them are millionaire?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At least four. Many of them new students invested a lot. They get some credit or some loans from the bank.

SOARES: Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At Google, they have pages.

SOARES: I almost understand why they are doing it, high unemployment, very little opportunity there in the city. As long as people in the United

States keep it engaging, keep clicking, keep sharing, keep liking, these guys will be in business.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Fantastic reporting from Isa there and what is frankly phenomenon, isn't it that has made ripples thought the U.S. potentially

impacting everything from the American population to people that now leading in an international dimension to this of course as well.

For an even deeper look at the fake news we shared out, do check out his special coverage inside our website, that is CNN.com, you know where to

fine it. Live from Abu Dhabi, is offering deeper look at the machine.

Now that you check out you are watching Connect the World, coming up, he brought us Playboy, revolutionized sexuality in America and for censorship.

We look at Hugh Hefner's legacy, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: You're watching CNN. This is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. Welcome back. Now Playboy founder Hugh Hefner has died at the

age of 91.

Now, an unforgettable part of American pop culture, the first edition of his magazine published in the 1950s, shocked America in an age when

sexuality and abortion were illegal.

He published full-color nude photographs of American starlet Marilyn Monroe. But that was more than just the campaign for sexual freedom.

It's a forward against censorship and for more liberal values. As Larry King put Hugh Hefner was a giant in publishing journalism and free speech,

and civil rights. CNN's Stephanie Elam looks at the man behind the Empire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was one of the original American Playboys, a magazine tycoon who helped spark a revolution, one

that challenged the nation's views on sexuality.

HUGH HEFNER, PLAYBOY FOUNDER: I have celebrated the romantic connection between the sexes and that's part of what Playboy is all about.

ELAM: Hugh M. Hefner who liked to be called Hef was born in Chicago in 1926 and raised in what he said was a strict household by conservative

Protestant parents.

HEFNER: I felt there was something more to life than the world I saw around me.

ELAM: In 1953, with just $8,000, the aspiring publisher produced the very first issue of Playboy magazine on the kitchen table of his Chicago

apartment.

[11:50:00] The cover featured a photo of Marilyn Monroe and sold more than 50,000 copies when it hit newsstands in December of 1953. Hefner now had

the funds to finance another issue and the Playboy Empire was born.

HEFNER: Well, I have never really thought of Playboy as a sex magazine. What I've tried to do is create a lifestyle magazine for men.

ELAM: Hefner divorced his wife Mildred Williams in 1959 and during the early days of the magazine's success decided he would not only promote the

fantasy he helped create but he would live it as well. Audiences got a taste of Hefner's good life in an early 1960s television show called

Playboy's Penthouse.

HEFNER: Come on in and meet some of our guests.

ELAM: Having already established himself in Chicago, Hefner made the move out west. In the early 1970s when Playboy Magazine was selling seven

million copies a month, he made his permanent home at the now famous Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. In 1989, Hefner uttered the two words many

thought he'd never say again when he married Playmate of the Year Kimberly Conrad.

HEFNER: I do.

ELAM: The couple had two children but separated in 1998. Hefner said he realized he was much happier as a bachelor.

HEFNER: I am essentially a romantic, so I think my life revolves and always has revolves around women.

ELAM: Hefner continued to live out the Playboy fantasy even in his later years, often seen in his trademark silk pajamas surrounded by busty blonde

lingerie clad women while hosting extravagant parties with celebrity guests. He even returned to television in 2005, this time sharing the

small screen with three live-in girlfriends in the reality show, The Girls Next Door.

In the late 2000s he began an on again, off again relationship with Playmate Crystal Harris, 60 years his junior. They tied the knot on New

Year's Eve in 2012.

Hefner sold his beloved Playboy Mansion for $100 million in 2016 on the condition that he be allowed to live there for the rest of his life.

Playboy and provocateur, Hugh Hefner wanted to make the world a happier, sexier place.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: What's your definition of obscenity?

HEFNER: Racism, war, bigotry, but sex itself, no. What is sad and cold world this would be if we weren't sexual beings. I mean, that's the heart

of who we are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Hugh Hefner. All right, some breaking news. I want to get you back to Puerto Rico now. CNN's Ivan Watson is there. He is an extremely

remote town of Morovis and joining us now, Ivan, just tell us where you are exactly and what you found.

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK. I'm in the municipality of Morovis outside a neighborhood, a village called San Lorenzo. This isn't that

remote, it only took us about 45 minutes to drive here from San Juan from the capital.

But what has happened here is I'm in front of a river where the bridge was washed out in the huge floods that followed hurricane Maria. I'm going to

get out of the picture so that, Brad, can show you the scene here.

So here you had eight days after the hurricane. The one main bridge that links the neighborhood of San Lorenzo to basically the outside world is

washed out and no residents here are being forced. If they want to really reach the outside world, they are forced to forward this on foot.

And volunteers from the community have sprung up in metal table so that people can hang onto it as they cross as they forward this river at areas

where sometimes it is knee-deep or a little bit more.

So in the past hour that we have been here, Becky, we have seen family members forwarding across and we have heard stories, for example of how one

patient who had diabetes several days ago had to be basically pulled across on a makeshift raft because they needed dialysis.

And this was the only way really to reach the outside world and maybe, Brad, can pan across to some of these other gentlemen who are hard at work

here, these are not government workers, Becky, these are not people from FEMA, or the Federal Government, or from the local government here in

Puerto Rico.

These are volunteers from the community. There's a man in a blue shirt their name on Manolo Gonzalez and he has got a small shop in the village of

San Lorenzo and he has been helping lead the operation here from volunteers of stringing up this metal table to help residents back and forth to the

outside world. Now the community is not completely cut off.

[11:55:00] There is another road that runs through the mountains, some three hours, I am told that you can use to reach the outside world, but the

problem is, is that there is a fuel crisis eight days after hurricane Maria. Fuel is being rationed and people cannot simply burn the fuel for

their cars to try to go around that way.

So this is essentially the most efficient and fastest way to try to reach the outside world. The community on the other side of this river has no

electricity, no running water and no telecommunications either.

And these are the measures that they have been forced to resort to, to try to communicate with the outside world. They have been visited by the mayor

of the municipality of Morovis and they said they also have gotten one visited from workers from FEMA who were presumably some kind of assessment.

But throughout the day, the hours that we have been here, we have seen no presence whatsoever of the outside government, aside from a helicopter that

flew over about an hour ago. Becky.

ANDERSON: That's remarkable. Well, residents do what they can, doing a bit for each other. Ivan Watson there in Morovis. I am Becky Anderson,

that was Connect the World, from the team working with me here in Abu Dhabi, in Atlanta, in the states and around the world, thank you for

watching. Same time and same place, Sunday, first day of our working week in the Middle East, happy Weekend.

END