What People Are Getting Wrong This Week: Fake News About Caroline Leavitt
There’s a new star on the fake news horizon: White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt. Known for her aggressive press conferences, Leavitt is at the center of a tornado of misinformation spreading on both sides of the political spectrum.
To be clear about two of Leavitt’s most viral fake stories: She didn’t say people would like tariffs if they “avoided things like math.” And she didn’t appear on The Stephen Colbert Show . So if you believed any of these things, you are wrong. Before you get too upset about the lies being told about Leavitt, she doesn’t mind spreading her own fake news , so it’s a huge mess.
Caroline Leavitt didn’t say math was awake
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The image above has been posted and re-posted on Instagram , BlueSky , Reddit , and possibly Friendster, so pretty much everyone has seen it. Post X above has been viewed over 2.6 million times alone. But Leavitt never said that mathematics had woken up. This is a doctored version of a real screenshot from Fox News, so it’s fake. This is actually a joke, but judging by these comments…
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… many people didn’t see the humor in it. It’s not just the left that has missed the mark; Leavitt’s supposed defenders felt the need to counter this picture with a political “what about” as follows:
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Although the author of the image is unknown, it was created as a satire, but nowadays it is almost impossible to create a political parody. This is a perfect example of Poe’s Law in action. Poe’s Law essentially states: “Any parodic expression of extreme views may be mistaken by some readers for a sincere expression of those views.” It tracks.
Caroline Leavitt didn’t argue with Stephen Colbert
Fake news on the other hand cannot hide behind the phrase “It’s just a joke.” The above YouTube video is not meant to be funny. It looks and sounds like a straightforward news story, recounting how Caroline Leavitt appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and took over the late night debate host role entirely.
“I know what Americans want more than some ivory tower news outlets or millionaire anchors like you,” Leavitt allegedly said, “Trump works for the people, not you guys.”
Except Leavitt has never been on The Late Show. Everything in this clip was created by artificial intelligence, from Leavitt’s video footage to the voiceover and content. It’s a crude fake—as far as I know, the real Caroline Leavitt only has five fingers on her hands, and news anchors don’t say “asterisk” out loud when she appears in their scripts unless they’re Ron Burgundy—but it’s been viewed more than 60,000 times. The comments section was divided on its reality, despite the disclaimer: “Sound or visuals have been significantly edited or digitally created.”
The video was posted on the Ghost Stories channel, which until recently only posted AI-generated videos about cars and trucks, dozens of them like this one . Eleven days ago, something changed in Ghost Stories, and the damn algorithm that curated its content went all-in on Caroline Leavitt. According to Phantom Stories, Leavitt:
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Appeared on The Anderson Cooper Show and debated Michelle Obama . (Spoiler: Leavitt won the debate.)
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We discussed Jasmine Crockett live. (Spoiler: Leavitt also won that debate.)
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“Destroyed” Robert De Niro Live . (You know this drill.)
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He was fined in court for wearing a cross. She then founded an advocacy group that eventually inspired a bipartisan bill allowing religious expression. Judging by the video, Leavitt will tell her daughter about this in the future.
Stay tuned for more news on the fake Caroline Leavitt as it develops.