In late September 2023, the Dunning-Kruger Times published an article with the headline "ABC Hires Tim Allen As Its Conservative Programming Consultant.” The central claim was that ABC had hired Allen, described by Entertainment Weekly in 2021 as "one of Hollywood's few outspoken conservatives," to be their first-ever "conservative programming consultant." In the words of "ABC President Joe Barron," the article claimed, Allen would "bring another dimension to" ABC:
ABC has decided that it can no longer ignore the growing number of conservatives in Hollywood. To maintain balance, the network has decided to create a “Conservative Ambassador of Programming” position to ensure that the entirety of the audience is represented.
Tim Allen, who spent years on ABC with two successful sitcoms that both leaned to the right, has been chosen as the first to hold the title.“We’re excited to have Tim aboard,” said ABC President Joe Barron, “He’ll bring another dimension to our network.”
No such role, or television executive, exists at ABC, which is wholly owned by Disney and run by Disney co-chairperson Dana Walden. The Dunning-Kruger Times is named after the Dunning-Kruger Effect, a concept in psychology "in which poor performers in many social and intellectual domains seem largely unaware of just how deficient their expertise is." Most importantly, however, the site carries a disclaimer stating that everything it publishes is fiction:
Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site’s pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical.
Because this claim came from a website with a satire disclaimer, the claim "originated as satire."
For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.