Washigton Times Headline Fabricated
The Claim
The Washington Times front page has the headline “President Gore.”
News posted on
Emerging story
An image circulating online depicts the front page of The Washington Times with the headline “President Gore.”
Long story short, looks like the Trump campaign blanketed its offices with a photoshopped version of an early Wash Times front page. The "President Gore" version is clearly just the initial Bush headline, complete with a lede saying Bush won pic.twitter.com/6bETLySMQb
— Steven Lemongello (@SteveLemongello) November 8, 2020
Tim Murtaugh, a spokesperson for President Donald Trump’s campaign, tweeted a photo of the supposed newspaper front page on Nov. 8, saying, “Greeting staff at @TeamTrump HQ this morning, a reminder the media doesn’t select the President.” On the alleged front page, the newspaper puts up the headline “President Gore” and shows a photo of the then-Democratic presidential candidate.
Remember Gore thought he was President for 36 days. I hope history repeats itself on this. pic.twitter.com/qps9Gm12G0
— Chango Leon (@Changaleon2020) November 8, 2020
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar's investigation found the claims false. The Washington Times debunked the notion that it ran such a headline, noting that the image is doctored.
Those photos have been doctored. The Washington Times never ran a "President Gore" headline.
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) November 8, 2020
Misbar’s reverse image search found that the doctored front page has been circulating online since at least 2010 when it was posted on a DeviantArt blog.
The Washington Times confirmed it never published the headline shown in the image.
Trump’s campaign posted a "President Gore" headline to question the election. The image was fake. https://t.co/5Yj8JuvlaJ
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 9, 2020
A spokesperson for President Donald Trump’s campaign shared the fake front page with the banner headline "President Gore" as evidence that the media isn’t always right when it calls an election. According to sources, the image was printed and posted in the office kitchen of Trump HQ to be used as motivation to keep fighting the projection of Joe Biden winning the Electoral College.
