Fact Check: Did Fox News air a poll suggesting the White House shooting was staged?
WASHINGTON, DC: Following the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday, April 25, a rumor began circulating on social media platforms claiming that Fox News aired a poll suggesting many believed the attempt on President Donald Trump was staged.
Let us analyze and fact-check the viral claim.
Claim: Fox News aired a poll showing WHCD shooting was staged
The claim surfaced in the form of a purported Fox Business Network graphic stating that 70 percent of Americans believed the gunfire was orchestrated.
Sharing the image of the supposed Fox Business Network segment, the post was accompanied by a caption stating, “His own people think it's all fake!”
The apparent graphic is dated April 25 and purports to show the results of a "new poll taken after the White House Correspondents Dinner," with 70 percent of respondents answering "yes" to the question: "Was Trump's assassination staged?”
The image has spread across other social media platforms such as Facebook and Reddit.
Fact Check: False, Fox News never aired such a poll
The alleged Fox Business Network graphic reporting on a "new poll" is a fabrication, manipulated from an image the network aired days earlier about Trump’s economic approval rating.
"This graphic is fake and did not air on the network," said Alexandra Coscia, senior director of media relations at Fox News Media, in an April 27 email."
A reverse image and keyword search using the Internet Archive’s TV News Archive found the original Fox Business Network segment. It aired on April 22 during “Varney & Co.”
Details such as the stock trading figures, the timestamp at the bottom, the poll results, and Trump’s portrait match those in the altered version shared online.
The original report referenced an AP-NORC poll of 2,596 US adults conducted between April 16 and 20. It found that 70% disapproved of how Trump was handling the economy.
White House shooting prompts evacuation
Following the shooting incident, President Donald Trump, attending the event as the sitting president for the first time, was evacuated along with first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Moments later, Trump addressed the press from the White House, striking a note of unity despite the chaos. “The room was totally unified,” he said, calling the shared experience “a very beautiful thing to see.”
According to reports, the shooting occurred above the ballroom. The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Allen of California, was allegedly armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives.
