Manipulated image shows Bob Woodward post mocking Trump | Fact check
Andre ByikThe claim: Image shows Bob Woodward post mocking Trump
A Jan. 31 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a supposed X post from renowned journalist Bob Woodward.
"Since Donald Trump is suing me I will reveal something I've never revealed before about a public figure," the supposed post from Woodward reads. "The scent-barrier on his Depends™ is completely insufficient."
The Facebook post was shared more than 500 times in three days.
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Our rating: Manipulated media
The image is a fabrication. There is no record of the post on Woodward's X profile. The image originated as satire.
Image shared by satirical X account in 2023
Woodward is the famed Washington Post reporter who broke stories about the Watergate scandal and has written multiple books on the American presidency, covering leaders from Richard Nixon to Donald Trump. The image in question references a lawsuit Trump filed against Woodward in 2023 over the publication of audio recordings of their interviews. The case is ongoing.
Woodward did not respond to the lawsuit by writing the post in question, however. The image is a fabrication.
The post does not appear on Woodward's X profile. Nor has any reputable news outlet covered the supposed post as legitimate.
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The image started as satire. It was originally shared on X on Jan. 30, 2023, by an account that describes itself as a source for parody images. The image of the fabricated Woodward post in the older X post includes a parody label that has been removed from the image in the Facebook post.
The Facebook post is an example of what could be called "stolen satire," where posts created as satire and presented that way originally are reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.The Facebook user who shared the post told USA TODAY the image is satirical.
Reuters, PolitiFact and Lead Stories previously debunked the claim.
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