CNN was forced to clarify Friday that they did not mistakenly report that Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was wearing a QAnon pin that was really just a Dorito crumb after a doctored image began circulating on Twitter.
The fake image appeared to show a correction from CNN about a story supposedly regarding Cruz.
“CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated that Sen. Ted Cruz was seen wearing a pin featuring a QAnon symbol. It was later discovered this was not a QAnon pin, but a Doritos snack chip stuck to his suit,” the fake image says.
Good to know. pic.twitter.com/Yewx9ZSRoX
— Keaton Patti (@KeatonPatti) January 15, 2021
CNN’s Head of Strategic Communications Matt Dornic clarified that there was never a correction issued.
Friends, I regret to inform you that this is not real. There is no CNN Doritos correction. pic.twitter.com/VeeNakOcHj
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 16, 2021
I can’t believe I have to tweet this but no, CNN did not issue a correction about Ted Cruz, QAnon and Doritos. ????
— Matt Dornic (@mdornic) January 16, 2021
“I can’t believe I have to tweet this but no, CNN did not issue a correction about Ted Cruz, QAnon and Doritos ????” the tweet said.
One person urged Dornic to enjoy the joke, noting it was “hilarious.” (RELATED: CNN Hosts Claim ‘My Pillow Guy’ Is ‘Filling The Gap’ Of Departed White House Staff)
“For people who get the joke. But it’s an actual alert in news tracking system and we’ve received inquiries. So no, I don’t think fake news is that funny,” he responded.
For people who get the joke. But it’s an actual alert in news tracking system and we’ve received inquiries. So no, I don’t think fake news is that funny.
— Matt Dornic (@mdornic) January 16, 2021
Cruz himself chimed and said that he is a fan of Doritos.
“I do love Doritos,” he tweeted, although he did not indulge Twitter of his favorite flavor.
I do love Doritos. https://t.co/TpmNNj16B8
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 16, 2021
CNN was forced to issue a real correction Thursday after mistakenly reporting that Democratic California Rep. Ted Lieu “grabbed a crowbar” during the Capitol riot when he really grabbed an ProBar energy bar.
CNN issues correction of the week, noting that Rep. Ted Lieu grabbed a ProBar energy bar and not a crowbar during the Capitol siege https://t.co/ykjSh4ClKZ
— Business Insider (@businessinsider) January 14, 2021
The media has had a frenzy with QAnon conspiracy theories. Vice President Mike Pence sparred with CNN’s John Berman over the theory back in August.
After President Donald Trump stopped short of condemning QAnon conspirators, Pence told Berman he didn’t “know anything about that conspiracy theory” at which point Berman interrupted Pence and asked “how can you not know anything about it, given how much it’s been in the news?”
“Honestly, John, I don’t know anything about it,” Pence shot back. “We dismiss conspiracy theories around here.”
CNN has also written about QAnon multiple times, recently noting that QAnon was the driving force behind the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
“Thousands of its adherents, steeped in years of conspiracy theories espoused by Trump, stormed the Capitol ready for violence — seemingly certain they were the ones liberating the country. Many displayed clothing and paraphernalia associated with the movement,” CNN wrote.
CNN has warned that QAnon lies were “hijacking the nation” and doing “harm” to children.
QAnon is a conspiracy theory that believes there is a “worldwide cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who rule the world, essentially, and they control everything,” conspiracy theory researcher Travis View told Salon.
Twitter said it has purged more than 70,000 accounts from its platform that shared QAnon content.
Twitter spokesman Trenton Kennedy told the Daily Caller News Foundation that “QAnon is a group that we assess via our coordinated harmful activity framework.”