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Juan Williams' Salary at Fox News Promised in Misleading Ad

The strange ad led to a 121-page article. We promise this story will only be one page.

Published May 19, 2021

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 08:   Fox News political analyst Juan Williams visits SiriusXM Studios on January 08, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 08: Fox News political analyst Juan Williams visits SiriusXM Studios on January 08, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

Since at least May 2021, an online advertisement claimed to reveal Juan Williams' salary at Fox News. Williams co-hosts "The Five" and has appeared on the cable news channel since 1997.

The ad in question read: "[Photos] After Years With The Fox News Channel, This Is Juan Williams’ Annual Salary."

Juan Williams salary at Fox News was the subject of a strange internet ad.
Williams didn't appear until page 119 of the 121-page article.

The ad appeared on the Outbrain advertising network. Outbrain ads are displayed across a massive number of pages including many local news websites.

121 Pages

The ad led to a 121-page slideshow article. The story was riddled with grammatical errors and strange wording.

On the first page, it mentioned that former NBC personality Matt Lauer "parted ways" with the network, but it did not mention why. Lauer was fired in 2017 for what NBC called "inappropriate sexual behavior."

Other pages claimed that CNN personalities with their own shows including Brooke Baldwin and John Berman make between $59,000 and $60,000 per year.

Meanwhile, CNN's Jake Tapper, "Wheel of Fortune" host Pat Sajak, Fox News host Jesse Watters, and ABC News host David Muir all showed much higher salaries.

However, none of the information in the article was sourced in any way. It did not appear to be the least bit reliable.

Juan Williams

After clicking "next page" 118 times, Williams finally appeared on page 119.

JUAN WILLIAMS – $2 MILLION

Celebrated journalist Juan Williams has been in the game for as long as we can remember, and his mastery of delivering news has made him a household name.

Surprisingly, his career did not begin on the screens. William started as a reporter for the ‘Washington Post,’ before making the switch to radio and eventually television. He is one complete journalist, and it’s no wonder his paycheck is hefty. After all, such skills don’t come easy, and currently, Williams reportedly earns a little over two million dollars. His wages will only rise in the coming days, just like his popularity!

While the story claimed that Williams' salary was $2 million, this appeared to be outdated and perhaps incorrect information. Further, there was no source offered for the figure.

11 Years Ago

In 2010, The Los Angeles Times reported that Williams was offered a three-year contract at Fox "in a deal that amounts to nearly $2 million."

The slideshow article and other websites that claim to publish the net worth of celebrities published this seemingly outdated figure from 11 years ago.

We were unable to find any data on Williams' current salary at Fox News more recent than 2010.

Google's Unreliable Answer Boxes

The salaries and net worths of celebrities are often kept out of the public eye, with some exceptions. Google searches for a celebrity name might show a net worth figure at the top of the search results in a large font size. Moz.com referred to the search result area as "Google answer boxes" or "featured snippet."

However, this area at the top of search results does not mean that Google confirmed the figure. It simply means that Google pulled data from a website that likely estimated the number. Such websites usually do not cite any sources.

Snopes debunks a wide range of content, and online advertisements are no exception. Misleading ads often lead to obscure websites that host lengthy slideshow articles with lots of pages. It's called advertising "arbitrage." The advertiser's goal is to make more money on ads displayed on the slideshow's pages than it cost to show the initial ad that lured them to it. Feel free to submit ads to us, and be sure to include a screenshot of the ad and the link to where the ad leads.

Jordan Liles is a Senior Reporter who has been with Snopes since 2016.

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