Fact Check: Did Rachel Maddow team up with Stephen Colbert and Joy Reid to launch a news outlet?
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: In August 2025, online rumors claimed MSNBC host Rachel Maddow launched her own newsroom and joined forces with CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert and former MSNBC anchor Joy Reid.
The matter gained traction after CBS announced the cancellation of 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert', scheduled to end in May 2026, and months after MSNBC abruptly ended Reid’s show. Some social media users speculated that the three progressive voices had teamed up to form an independent media outlet.
Did Rachel Maddow start an independent news outlet with Colbert and Reid?
A Facebook video post on August 20, showing still images of Maddow and Colbert, received over 610,000 views, claiming: “Rachel Maddow has quietly launched a brand-new newsroom unlike anything MSNBC ever imagined… And her partners? None other than Stephen Colbert and Joy Reid.”
Similar posts spread on Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn and X, often linking to ad-heavy blogs promoting the rumor.
The rumor alleged Maddow founded an independent newsroom in mid-2025, described by viral posts as a “news revolution” aiming to bypass censorship and “expose corruption.” Posts further claimed Colbert and Reid joined this effort, pointing to their uncertain futures in mainstream media.
Some of these claims appeared with AI-generated images, including doctored pictures of Maddow, and were widely shared without credible sourcing. Facebook transparency data showed that several pages spreading the rumor, linking to ad-filled blog posts, were managed by individuals primarily located in Vietnam.
False: Rachel Maddow denies forming news outlet with Stephen Colbert and Joy Reid
Searches on Bing, Google, DuckDuckGo, and Yahoo produced no credible news reports about Maddow, Colbert, and Reid launching a joint newsroom, something that major outlets would have covered if true.
Maddow personally debunked the rumor during a late July 2025 episode of 'The Rachel Maddow Show'. She said on-air: “I have not founded my own news network, nor am I planning to. Why would I do that, when I work at MSNBC?”
AI text-detection tools, including Copyleaks.com and QuillBot.com, estimated that the blog articles promoting the rumor were largely AI-written. While AI detection isn’t perfect, these sites frequently churn out fabricated stories to drive advertising revenue.
Rachel Maddow previously targeted by AI-generated hoaxes
The false claim spread in the wake of real broadcast shake-ups. CBS had announced The Late Show would end in 2026, while MSNBC unexpectedly canceled Joy Reid’s show earlier in 2025. These developments made the rumor appear more plausible to some audiences.
This was not the first time Maddow had to address online fabrications.
During the same July broadcast, she called out fake AI-generated images falsely showing her at Texas flood relief sites and debunked another viral claim that she was having a baby via surrogacy.
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online
