A digitally altered screenshot of a Fox News report has been taken by social media users to suggest that the network aired coverage of a new chicken sandwich released by fast food chain Popeyes instead of covering a Louisville, Kentucky, shooting that left five people dead and eight others injured on April 10. This claim is false. When asked for comment by The Dispatch Fact Check, a Fox News spokesperson confirmed that the image is fake.
Fox News’ website has published articles about Popeyes chicken sandwiches before, but a search of the site shows no evidence of any video segments posted about Popeyes since the shooting in Louisville took place.
Additionally, the text shown in the ticker at the bottom of the altered screenshot appears to reference a story from 2019 about Chile’s inability to host a climate summit because of mass protests. This suggests that the original screenshot is at least four years old. The Popeyes ad campaign from which the image of the chicken sandwich in the altered photo was taken also dates to 2019.
The Twitter user who shared the screenshot has posted it on at least one other occasion in the past in the context of other news events. This tweet was posted on February 12, 2021, years before the Louisville shooting:
Footage of Fox News’ coverage of the Louisville shooting and its aftermath can be viewed here and here.
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