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The Situation Room
Jesse Jackson Dies; Remembering the Little Rock Nine; Stephen Colbert Defies CBS; Zuckerberg to Testify in Social Media Trial. Aired 11:30a-12p ET
Aired February 17, 2026 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:30:00]
FRANCES HAUGEN, FORMER FACEBOOK PRODUCT MANAGER: He's going to talk a lot, but he's not going to take responsibility, because, if they take responsibility, then they're going to have to change their business model and how they do business.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: So, I want to remind everyone of the apology Mark Zuckerberg made two years ago to families who said their children were harmed by social media. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO, META: I'm sorry for everything you've all gone through. No one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered. And this is why we've invested so much and are going to continue doing industry-wide efforts to make sure that no one has to go through the types of things that your families have had to suffer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: So, Frances, it's Wolf.
How -- social media have -- have social media companies -- and this is the key question right now -- done enough since then to protect the mental health of their users, particularly young kids?
HAUGEN: What we have seen to date is experts, parents, advocates recommending very simple interventions going back a decade. This is things like, should kids have the most freely available non-private accounts as the default, or should you opt to get into a more private account to start? Very basic things.
And we see them only actually take the advice of these experts, of these advocates when they are forced to. So this could be in the days before the age-appropriate design code took place in the U.K. or when Australia began conversations about banning social media for under- 16s.
We saw suddenly they were really excited about launching (AUDIO GAP) so that's how it happened, only (AUDIO GAP) force.
BROWN: Right.
And just to follow up with you, Meta recently implemented some new measures using specialty accounts with default privacy and content limits for users under 18, gives more controls to parents. They're also using A.I. to catch teens who lied about their age. Do you think that's enough?
HAUGEN: It's definitely a great first step.
One of the key things that's missing from these interventions -- and, remember, all those features have been asked for like 10 years. We have to ask the question, why now, instead of before? But all those interventions are basically only marketing messages unless there is transparency and (AUDIO GAP) accountability.
That means sending in auditors, having a ways where the public can know, are these features even still working? Because people like Arturo Bejar, another whistle-blower, showed that many of the features that Facebook claimed to have launched had regressed or been turned off accidentally.
BLITZER: Meta released a statement about the trial, and it said this, and I'm quoting now.
"The question for the jury in Los Angeles is whether Instagram was a substantial factor in the plaintiff's mental health struggles. The evidence will show she faced many significant, difficult challenges well before she ever used social media" -- end quote.
What do you make of that defense, Frances?
HAUGEN: It's the classic blaming the victim. We saw this in the tobacco lawsuits. They say things like, you made all these other choices in your life, and that's why you got cancer, not our cigarettes.
So we should expect to hear this time and time again. They will find anything they can point at, other than taking responsibility for their own actions.
BROWN: All right, Frances Haugen, thank you so much for coming on and offering your perspective. We appreciate it.
And just ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM: Stephen Colbert defying CBS after publishing an interview online he says the network barred him from airing. The new fallout this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:37:47]
BLITZER: New this morning, there are new questions emerging right now about the leadership of CBS after television host Stephen Colbert said his network barred him from airing an interview with Democrat James Talarico under a federal directive.
Talarico, a Texas state representative and Democratic candidate for Senate, did not appear on "The Late Show," as scheduled.
BROWN: Colbert addressed his absence in a segment that he said he was wrongly strongly advised against, but he did it anyway. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": And you know who is not one of my guests tonight? That's Texas State Representative James Talarico. He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network's lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast.
(BOOING)
COLBERT: Then I was told, in some uncertain terms, that not only could I not have him on. I could not mention me not having him on.
(LAUGHTER)
COLBERT: And because my network clearly doesn't want us to talk about this, let's talk about this.
(CHEERING)
COLBERT: You've probably heard...
(CHEERING)
COLBERT: So, you might have heard of this thing called the equal time rule, OK? It's an old FCC rule that applies only to radio and broadcast television, not cable or streaming, that says if a show has a candidate on during an election, they have to have all that candidate's opponents on as well.
It's the FCC's most time-honored rule right after no nipples at the Super Bowl.
(LAUGHTER)
COLBERT: There's long been an exception for this rule, an exception for news interviews and talk show interviews with politicians. Now, that's crucial. How else were voters supposed to know back in 1992 that Bill Clinton sucked at saxophone?
(LAUGHTER)
COLBERT: But, on January 21 of this year, a letter was released by FCC chairman and smug bowling pin Brendan Carr.
(LAUGHTER)
COLBERT: In this letter, Carr said he was thinking about dropping the exception for talk shows because he said some of them were motivated by partisan purposes.
Well, sir, you're chairman of the FCC, so FCCU. (END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:40:02]
BROWN: The interview was posted to the "Late Show" YouTube channel.
BLITZER: I want to go live right now to CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter.
Brian, what are you learning about all of this?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is like the Jimmy Kimmel episode all over again, but now it's Stephen Colbert, whose show was canceled by CBS last summer, but is still on through May, and Colbert is going down swinging.
This shocking action by CBS seems to be the result of the Trump administration's intensifying pressure campaign against broadcast networks. The FCC has long regulated local stations, including ones owned by CBS, and the FCC recently issued new guidance about an old regulation known as the equal time rule.
The rule states that if one candidate for office gets on air, then the other candidates, the rival, should be allowed on air too. That rule, though, has big exemptions for news programs. And for the past 20 years, stations have operated on the assumption that talk shows and late-night shows have also been granted that exemption.
Trump's ally at the FCC Brendan Carr has said stations should not believe there is an exception anymore, no more exemptions for these liberal talk shows. It's clear Carr is targeting the shows because they are critical over Republicans and Trump specifically.
So you have the situation where the FCC is using its very limited power to try to pressure local stations, but I say limited, because the stations have a lot of leeway, and the FCC's enforcement powers are really limited here.
A source at the FCC said to CNN last month -- quote -- "The threat is the point." The point is to force shows and networks to second-guess their decisions in light of the new guidance. And that seems to be what's happening at CBS, although the network has not commented.
This seems to be another example of government intimidation against the media. But, like you said, CBS has shared this interview on YouTube because YouTube is not regulated by the FCC.
BROWN: So everyone can watch it anyway if they would like.
All right, Brian Stelter, thank you so much -- Wolf.
BLITZER: And coming up: remembering a towering voice of the civil rights movement. That towering voice, sadly, goes silent.
We look back at the life and legacy of the Reverend Jesse Jackson and the giants whose stories he championed. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:46:40]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. JESSE JACKSON, FOUNDER, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION: Our flag is red, white, and blue, but our nation is rainbow, red, yellow, brown, black, and white.
(CHEERING)
JACKSON: We're all precious in God's sight.
(CHEERING)
JACKSON: America -- America is not like a blanket, one piece of unbroken cloth, the same color, the same texture, the same size. America is more like a quilt, many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread.
The white, the Hispanic, the black, the Arab, the Jew, the woman, the Native American, the small farmer, the businessperson, the environmentalist, the peace activist, the young, the old, the lesbian, the gay, and the disabled make up the American quilt.
(CHEERING)
JACKSON: Even in our fractured state, all of us count and fit somewhere.
We've proven that we can survive without each other, but we have not proven that we can win and make progress without each other. We must come together.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And as we reflect on the life and legacy of Jesse Jackson and his profound impact on the modern civil rights movement, we're reminded of the men and women whose courage he carried forward and whose stories he helped keep alive.
In 1954, the Supreme Court declared school segregation unconstitutional, but, in the South, resistance was fierce. The governor of Arkansas refused to integrate the schools for years.
BLITZER: But, in 1957, nine black students in Little Rock, Arkansas, just teenagers at the time, took a very, very courageous stand, facing a storm of hatred and violence.
They walked into the Little Rock Central High School with a steady bravery and unshakable resolve that helped move the nation closer to equality. And they came to be known as the Little Rock Nine.
CNN's Elie Honig sat down with one of the last living survivors.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST (voice-over): When Melba Pattillo Beals and her black classmates first tried to enter Little Rock Central High School, they were blocked by an angry mob.
MELBA PATTILLO BEALS, MEMBER OF THE LITTLE ROCK NINE: "You're dead. You know, you're not going to live. You might as well put your books down. You're not going to live to study."
HONIG: In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a historic ruling, Brown versus Board of Education. In a unanimous 9-0 decision, the court prohibited racial segregation in public schools and declared an end to so-called Jim Crow separate, but equal laws.
Despite the Supreme Court's ruling, it would be three years until Arkansas high schools would integrate. Melba Beals, then just 15 years old, would be part of the first group of black students at Little Rock Central High School.
PATTILLO BEALS: Now, originally, there were 116 African-American children set to go to Central High School.
[11:50:05]
A man, a white man, came to our house and knocked on the door: "This is not going to be good for you. We're going to kill you and your relatives."
HONIG (on camera): And there was physical violence directed at you and your family as well?
PATTILLO BEALS: Physical doesn't begin to explain it. Shooting in the window.
HONIG (voice-over): The intimidation did deter some students. Only Melba and eight others ended up attending. Together, they would become known as the Little Rock Nine.
PATTILLO BEALS: My grandmother said: "Look, you're born on this Earth to do certain things. And if that's what you're here for, then you have no choice."
HONIG: The first time they tried to enter the school, Melba and her black classmates were met by an angry mob. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus had activated the Arkansas National Guard to block the black students from entering the school.
Later that month, President Dwight D. Eisenhower invoked the Insurrection Act to deploy the military, the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, to escort the students into Little Rock Central High School.
DWIGHT EISENHOWER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have today issued An executive Order directing the use of troops under federal authority to aid in the execution of federal law at Little Rock, Arkansas.
HONIG (on camera): What would have happened if President Eisenhower never utilized the 101st to protect you?
PATTILLO BEALS: I wouldn't be sitting here. I would be very dead, not a little dead, very dead.
HONIG: What was your time at Little Rock Central like?
PATTILLO BEALS: It was a horror movie. Put acid in my eyes. I see, for example, the liquid, that light, floaters go across. Pulling my hair, cut off my -- try to cut off my ponytail. I would go to the bathroom, and they would drop lit pieces of fire -- paper with matches and drop them over.
HONIG (voice-over): While Melba knew her role was important, the burden and the sacrifice were almost too much for her to bear.
But when Martin Luther King Jr. visited the Little Rock Nine, he made it clear that their mission was much bigger.
(on camera): You met with Martin Luther King.
PATTILLO BEALS: I did. And he said: "Melba, you're not doing this for yourself. You're doing this for generations yet unborn."
HONIG (voice-over): This was hardly the first time she'd face challenges. As a black child born in 1941 in the segregated South, Melba Pattillo Beals faced racism in every part of her life.
PATTILLO BEALS: We'd go in public, and they'd call us the N-word all the time. So what it was like? It was a living hell, because from the beginning, my little spirit said, hey, you don't treat me that way.
HONIG: As a child, Melba witnessed unspeakable acts of violence.
PATTILLO BEALS: Five years of age, I'm sitting in a church. And so, all of a sudden, this backdoor opened, and there were, probably, I don't know, 100, more than a 100 people, and in walked these dudes in their white sheets, and I know what that meant. That's Klan, right?
They went right after this man, and there were rafters in this church, and they strung a rope over the rafters. I was too little to look up to his face, but I could see his feet dangling as they were hanging him, and I could hear the "argh" in his throat, you know? I have never forgotten that.
HONIG: In 1999, President Bill Clinton awarded Melba and the other members of the Little Rock Nine the Congressional Gold Medal for their role in the civil rights movement.
Given her own lived experience, Melba worries about what she sees unfolding today.
PATTILLO BEALS: Sending troops is not the answer. Eisenhower sent in troops because Faubus was not in compliance. And so I think that, in the end, will we regret what's going on now? Let's wait and see.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Wow, Elie, what a powerful interview, what she described as a little kid, what she saw in that church, all the horrible names she was called. And I love when she said, my little spirit was not going to tolerate that, right?
BLITZER: And the only thing she wanted to do was go to school.
BROWN: She just wanted to go to school. I mean, wow.
HONIG: For sure.
BROWN: What key lessons from Melba's life do you think are most important for people to understand and carry forward?
HONIG: Well, what a privilege and a joy, first of all, to have that conversation with Melba Pattillo Beals. She is a civil rights hero, and she is a force of nature, as you could see in that piece.
BROWN: Yes.
HONIG: And I keep going back to that moment in 1957. She's 15 years old. She's grown up in the segregated South, witnessing all sorts of trauma and horrible treatment.
And now she's at this moment where everyone is lined up against her. The governor doesn't want her to desegregate the schools. The governor has called out the Arkansas National Guard. The children and adults in her neighborhood were against her. The KKK went door to door to dissuade people.
And the group went from an initial group of 116 down to Melba and the eight others who became the Little Rock Nine. The bravery that she exhibited in that moment to me, Wolf and Pam, is just inspiring.
BROWN: Yes, it really is just incredible.
BLITZER: I give her a lot of credit.
BROWN: Yes.
BLITZER: Yes.
BROWN: All right, Elie Honig, thank you so much.
HONIG: Thanks, guys.
[11:55:01]
BLITZER: Elie, thanks from me as well.
And, before we go, I just wanted to announce the passing of my good friend and former producer Steve Redisch. Steve began his broadcasting career back in 1979 at WTOP All News Radio here in Washington. And he later worked at CNN for some 20 years in a number of roles, including my producer. After CNN, Steve went to work for the Voice of America as managing editor.
Our deepest, deepest condolences to his loving family. May he rest in peace and may his memory be a blessing.
Thanks very much for joining us this morning.
BROWN: "INSIDE POLITICS" with our friend and colleague Dana Bash is up right after a short break.
