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| - A rumor that U.S. television network ABC had fired its star presenters Linsey Davis and David Muir, who moderated the Sept. 10, 2024, presidential debate between former U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, swirled online. The Facebook page SpaceX Fanclub posted it the day after the debate took place:
(Facebook/SpaceX Fanclub)
ABC Fires Debate Moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis: "They Are a Disgrace to Their Profession"
Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life events. "Absolutely a disgrace! Obviously, they are very one-sided and they should not be broadcasting," one commenter said below the post. However, there was no evidence that ABC had indeed let the two presenters go.
Rather, the rumor about ABC firing Muir and Davis originated with satirical site SpaceXMania.com:
Debate Moderators Linsey Davis And David Munir Reportedly Fired By ABC, "They Are A Disgrace To Their Profession"
In an unexpected twist that has left journalists and political pundits both stunned and bemused, ABC has announced the immediate firing of debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, accusing them of being a "disgrace to their profession." Their crime? Fact-checking Donald Trump during the recent presidential debate—and daring to do it live on air.
SpaceXmania.com describes its output as being humorous in nature. Its disclaimer states:
Please note that the article under the category "SATIRE" are satirical in nature and are not meant to be taken seriously. These articles are meant to be humorous and are often entirely made up. We make no claim that the information presented in these articles is true or accurate.
Readers should exercise caution and use their own judgment when reading and interpreting our satirical articles. We take no responsibility for any actions taken based on the content of these articles.
We understand that some readers may be unfamiliar with satire and may not understand that these articles are not meant to be taken at face value. It is the responsibility of the reader to discern the intent of these articles and to understand that they are not presented as factual news.
Further, a note appeared at the bottom of the article stating, "This is SATIRE, Not TRUE." Lastly, the Facebook page of SpaceX Fanclub included these words in the description: "We post SATIRE, nothing on this page is real."
The fictional story spread as criticism mounted that the moderators' fact-checking during the debate was unfair to Trump.
SpaceXMania has a history of making up stories for shares and comments, sometimes relying on artificial-intelligence (AI) writing software to do its storytelling. Further, Snopes ran the article's text through online tools that detect content produced by artificial intelligence (AI), including ZeroGPT and QuillBot, both of which concluded at least half of the text had been AI-generated. Increasing numbers of articles containing false rumors on such sites are created the same way.
Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims SpaceXMania in the past, including the assertion that actor Mark Wahlberg had turned down a Disney project for being too "woke" and the claim that celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay had kicked Minnesota Gov. and would-be Democratic Vice President Tim Walz out of his restaurant calling him a "woke creep."
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.
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