Executives at the meeting boasted about the network’s high ratings. They bragged about the outlet’s increased digital presence. As one employee told CNN, “The theme was all very positive.”

But the positive feelings coming out of the meeting soon subsided. A note sent by retired Lt. Colonel Ralph Peters, a longtime Fox News analyst, leaked to BuzzFeed. In the note to a handful of colleagues, Peters said that he could not in good conscience renew his contract with the network, explaining that he believed Fox News had become a “propaganda machine” for President Donald Trump.

“The thing hit like a bombshell,” a longtime Fox News employee, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter, told CNN.