ABC fired debate moderators David Muir, Linsey Davis? No, that's satire | Fact check

Members of the ABC television crew, including moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, pose for photos following a presidential debate hosted by ABC between Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, and Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 10, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

The claim: ABC fired presidential debate moderators David Muir, Linsey Davis

A Sept. 13 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes pictures of ABC News journalists David Muir and Linsey Davis, who moderated the Sept. 10 presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

“ABC Fires Debate Moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis: ‘They Are a Disgrace to Their Profession,’” reads the post's caption.

Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.

The post was shared more than 2,000 times in three days.

More from the Fact-Check Team:How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page

Our rating: False

There is no truth to the claim. It originated on a satirical website but was presented elsewhere as authentic news.

Claim about ABC News anchors is stolen satire

Muir and Davis drew Trump’s ire for fact-checking him live during the debate. And while the former president has called for ABC to lose its broadcasting license for being unfair to him during the debate, the network is still on the air, and the anchors are still employed by ABC.

The claim that Muir and Davis were fired was first shared Sept. 12 by Esspots, a satirical website that is part of the SpaceXMania network of websites. Esspots carries a satire disclaimer on its website, and the original article was labeled that way, as was a Facebook post in a SpaceX Mania-affiliated Facebook group linking to the article.

However, the disclaimer was nowhere to be found on subsequent posts that reiterated the claim.

The Sept. 13 Facebook post is an example of what could be called “stolen satire,” where stories written as satire and presented that way originally are captured and reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.

Fact check: No evidence there were transmitters in Kamala Harris' earrings during debate

There have been no announcements that ABC fired either Muir or Davis. Hours after the claim began circulating Sept. 12, Muir was on the air anchoring ABC World News Tonight.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the claim for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

• Esspots, Sept. 12, ABC Fires Debate Moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis: ‘They Are a Disgrace to Their Profession’
• SpaceX Fanclub, Sept. 12, Facebook post
• ABC News via YouTube, Sept. 12, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - Sept. 12, 2024

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.

USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ABC fired debate moderators David Muir, Linsey Davis? No, that's satire | Fact check