Fact Check: Was Karoline Leavitt offered a high-ranking position at CNN’s parent company?
WASHINGTON, DC: After President Donald Trump accused CNN of using a fake statement, a rumor began circulating on social media platforms, claiming that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was offered a high-ranking position with Paramount, the parent company of CNN.
Let us analyse the viral rumor and fact-check the claim.
Claim: Karoline Leavitt was offered a position at CNN's parent company
The viral claim surfaced on Facebook, which stated, “Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been offered a high-ranking position with Paramount, the new parent company of both CBS News and CNN.”
"We'd love to have her take over the CNN Newsroom," said Programming Director Ron Jobear, "If ever an outfit was in need of an overhaul, it's CNN."
“Leavitt, who is expecting her second child, says she's perfectly happy being the mouthpiece for the most successful presidency in a hundred years, but she's flattered by the offer.”
"If President Vance doesn't call on me in 2029, we can talk," she told Paramount, the post claimed.
Fact Check: The claim originated as a satire
The claim, however, is false, as there is no evidence that Leavitt was offered such a position at Paramount.
A search on Google for the claim yielded no credible results by any prominent news media outlets, which, if true, would have been widely covered.
There is also no evidence for the claim that the channel’s programming director stated, “We'd love to have her take over the CNN Newsroom.”
Moreover, the claim was posted by a popular parody account called ‘America’s Last Line of Defense’ which describes itself in the bio, "Nothing on this page is real."
Donald Trump accuses CNN of airing fake statement
The claim surfaced after President Donald Trump accused CNN of publishing false information, claiming the network aired a “fake” Iranian statement and suggesting it may have committed a crime.
In his first post, Trump called CNN’s report a “fraud” and claimed, "The alleged Statement put out by CNN World News is a FRAUD, as CNN well knows. The false Statement was linked to a Fake News site (from Nigeria) and, of course, immediately picked up by CNN, and blared out as a ‘legitimate’ headline."
He added, "The Official Statement by Iran was just released, and posted on TRUTH, below. Authorities are looking to determine whether or not a crime was committed on the issuance of the Fake CNN World Statement, or was it a sick rogue player?"
He concluded the post, "CNN is being ordered to immediately withdraw this Statement with full apologies for their, as usual, terrible ‘reporting.’ Results of the investigation will be announced in the near future. President DONALD J TRUMP."
