Chanel Rion

Born Name: Chanel Ryan
Place of Birth: Texas, United States
Nationality: Korean-American
Citizenship: United States
Education: Harvard University
Occupation: Journalist, Caricaturist
Employer: One America News Network
Partner(s): Courtland Sykes
Parents: Dann O. Ryan
Siblings: Baron Ryan, Channing Rion
Website: chanelrion.com

Chanel Rion (born Chanel Ryan) is an American journalist and political caricaturist. She currently serves as the White House correspondent for One America News Network. Her journalism and cartoons frequently promote political conspiracy theories and pro-Donald Trump narratives.

Early life and education
Chanel Rion was born Chanel Ryan in Texas. Her father is Dann O. Ryan. Rion's mother is South Korean. Rion has two siblings, Baron and Channing. As a child, she lived in Texas, France, Missouri and South Korea. Rion was homeschooled. She studied international relations at Harvard University.

Career
Political cartoons
Rion creates political cartoons under the label "The Left Edge." The illustrations often support political conspiracies, including Pizzagate and that Hillary Clinton killed Seth Rich. Her work also criticizes public figures, including Harry Reid and James Comey.

Journalism
In May 2019, Rion became the White House correspondent for One America News Network (OAN). In October 2019, Rion reported that ex-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and ex-FBI lawyer Lisa Page had an affair. Rion's article lacked sourcing and was eventually discredited. OAN retracted the story. Later that year, in December, Rion presented "Revealed: Ukrainian witnesses destroy Schiff's case exclusive with Rudy Giuliani." The two part series, presented on OAN, featured Rion interviewing Rudy Giuliani and various Ukrainian supports of Giuliani, all whom support various conspiracy theories related to the Trump–Ukraine scandal.

Coronavirus coverage
In March 2020, Rion hosted Exposing China's Coronavirus: The Fears, The Lies and The Unknown on OAN. During the special, Rion called the Coronavirus the "Chinese virus." She said that Donald Trump's response to the pandemic has been "strong" and questioned if the virus came from Wuhan, China, suggesting that there are "clues" that the virus was created in a laboratory in North Carolina.

During a White House Coronavirus Task Force press briefing on March 19, Rion asked president Donald Trump if he thinks the term "Chinese food is racist because it is food that originated from China." Trump responded "I don't think that's racist at all." Rion followed up suggesting "major left-wing media" have partnered with China to promote "communist party narratives" regarding the Coronavirus In another Task Force press briefing on March 30, Rion compared "children who are killed by their mothers through elective abortions each day" to the increasing number of Americans dying from the Coronavirus.

On April 1, 2020, the White House Correspondents' Association removed OAN and Rion from the White House briefing room press briefings due to violating the Association's COVID-19 attendance policy. The policy, set forth by the Association and based on the Center for Disease Control COVID-19 guidelines, allows only 14 reporters in the briefing room daily and that all reporters occupy a seat. Correspondents are rotated to ensure all gain access to the briefing while maintaining save social distancing guidelines. On March 31 and April 1, Rion attended both press briefings when OAN was not on the rotation list. OAN founder Charles Herring stated that Rion was invited to participate in the press briefings outside of the White House Correspondent's Association rotation list. Rion stated that she was a guest of White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham.

Personal life
Rion is engaged to Courtland Sykes. Rion met Sykes at a CIA recruitment event at Harvard University.