On Dec. 2, 2023, SpaceXMania published an article positing that the conservative political commentator Candace Owens had begun appearing on ABC's "The View" following the departure of long-time host Whoopi Goldberg. The story was a follow-up to earlier articles also originating from the site that made various claims about Owens taking Goldberg's place on the show. This particular article began:
Breaking: Candace Owens Officially Joins “The View,” Taking Over Whoopi Goldberg
In a surprising turn of events for fans of the iconic daytime talk show “The View,” conservative political commentator Candace Owens has been announced as the latest addition to the show’s dynamic panel, stepping into the shoes of the beloved Whoopi Goldberg.
The news of Owens joining “The View” has sent shockwaves through the television industry and sparked conversations about the potential shifts in the show’s tone and discussions. As viewers prepare for this change, it’s essential to explore the reasons behind Owens’ selection and the impact her inclusion may have on the show’s long-established format.
The story was also posted onto SpaceXMania's associated Facebook page, SpaceX Lovers, where it garnered over 28,000 likes and 10,000 comments. While the comments section was divided as to whether Owens joining "The View" would be good for the show, almost all of them implied that users believed the story was true.
But it was not a factual recounting of real events. SpaceXMania describes its output as largely satirical in nature and tagged the story as such. On its disclaimer page, the site explains that any content it tags as satire is fictitious and therefore should never be assumed to be true:
Please note that the article under the category “SATIRE” are satirical in nature and are not meant to be taken seriously. These articles are meant to be humorous and are often entirely made up. We make no claim that the information presented in these articles is true or accurate.
Readers should exercise caution and use their own judgment when reading and interpreting our satirical articles. We take no responsibility for any actions taken based on the content of these articles.
To add further context: Whoopi Goldberg has not announced she is leaving "The View" anytime soon. If she had, reliable sources that cover entertainment news would have already reported on it, but that had not happened.
This is not the first SpaceXMania story mentioning Goldberg and Owens, either. On Nov. 22, 2023, the site posted an article initially making the claim that ABC was considering replacing Goldberg with Owens, which went viral on Facebook with over 185,000 likes. The next day, a follow-up article claimed ABC had offered Owens $10 million to replace Goldberg. Another day, another article, this time claiming that Owens had been offered the spot but turned it down. After three articles in a row, it was a breather (one week) before the follow-up: the claim that Owens had officially replaced Goldberg.
Different claims about Goldberg and Owens have come from various "satire news" sites, but this particular story originated with SpaceXMania. Although none of the posts were labeled as satirical on Facebook, since all of the stories did have a satire tag on the original website, we rate this claim Labeled Satire.
For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.