On Aug. 10, 2023, a purported celebrity news YouTube channel known as Just In (@JustInCeleb) posted a new video with a title that read, "Whoopi Goldberg PANICS As 'The View' Gets CANCELLED After NEW Backlash."
Starting around the 1:20-mark, the video blamed the cancellation on the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike — which had lasted for over 100 days, as of this writing. (The Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, otherwise known as SAG-AFTRA, were also on strike.)
The description box that appears under the video when played on YouTube said:
The Writers Guild strike sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry, and even the indomitable "View" was not spared. The fallout from this strike affected the show's quality, as the witty banter and thought-provoking discussions we've come to expect started to dwindle. The hosts, who are used to dishing out the latest buzz with their signature flair, were forced to steer clear of any topics remotely connected to the Writers Guild, leaving them with a limited pool of material to work with. As ratings began to dip and loyal viewers grew restless with the show's new direction, sparks flew on the set.
At the time of this writing, the video had over 400,000 views. We also found social media posts about the claim that included the video on platforms like Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook.
The video wasn't true. At the time of this writing, "The View" wasn't canceled, certainly not because of the WGA strike. We found no evidence that supported the claim. According to entertainment news publication The Wrap, the show was on a break, after the latest season of the talk show ended on Aug. 4, 2023.
The YouTube video didn't provide any sources for the claim "The View" was canceled because of the strike, which is often a hallmark of misinformation. If the show had been canceled — let alone because of the WGA strike, which has been intensely covered by news and entertainment publications — it would have been covered by credible sources. At the time of this writing, that hadn't happened.
There were other indicators the YouTube video wasn't sharing reputable news. A content warning in the video description said:
Disclaimer: Content might be gossip, rumors, exaggerated or indirectly besides the truth. Viewer advised to do own research before forming their opinion. Content might be opinionated.
In addition, the video itself carried a disclaimer while it played that said its "content might be gossip, rumors, or exaggerated."
In a clip from "The View" that was posted to its own authentic YouTube channel on July 17, 2023, Goldberg said the show was still airing amid the strikes because of the type of contract it was under. She said:
We want to start with an explanation of why we're still working when there is a SAG-AFTRA strike. Like the soap, soap operas and game shows and news shows, we work under something: a different kind of contract, which is called the network code. Which means that we are allowed to continue on. …We support the actors who are out on strike, as we do with the directors — the writer's guild. People are just trying to get a balance.
We previously reported about other false rumors promoted by the Just In YouTube page, including a false claim that Goldberg had lost everything in a lawsuit brought by country music singer Jason Aldean. The claim was based on a satirical article that was also mentioned towards the end of the YouTube video about "The View" being canceled.