False claim CNN anchor reported sex offender registry causes harm | Fact check

Andre Byik, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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The claim: Image shows Jake Tapper's social media post about sex offender registries causing harm

A May 18 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) includes a screenshot of a post purportedly shared by CNN anchor Jake Tapper.

"Sex Offender Registries are causing those placed on them to develop anxiety," the post from X, formerly Twitter, reads. "Tonight we talk with experts who say registering sex offenders is causing harm by shaming them, and believe the practice must end."

The post includes a purported CNN chyron that reads, "Sex offender registries cause harm."

The Instagram post was liked more than 100 times in four days.

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Our rating: False

A CNN spokesperson said Tapper did not share the X post or report about sex offender registries causing harm. The post originated as satire and was shared by a parody account impersonating Tapper.

Post originated from parody account

Tapper, CNN's chief Washington correspondent, did not share the post or make the report pictured in the post, Emily Kuhn, a spokesperson for CNN, said in an email. Kuhn said the post was made by an X account trying to pass itself off as the anchor.

"None of the posts associated with this account are accurate or are anything Jake reported," Kuhn said.

The account, @JakeTappersCNN, has since been suspended by X. Before it was suspended, the account had been using the name, "Jake Tapper – CNN News and Politics Parody." The screenshot in the Instagram post doesn't show the word "parody" in the name, however.

Tapper's genuine X account is @jaketapper, and there is no record of him sharing such a post on it. There are also no reports or articles on CNN's website about sex offender registries causing harm.

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The Instagram post is an example of what could be called "stolen satire," where posts created as satire and presented that way originally are reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.

The Instagram user who shared the post did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters also debunked the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Post about CNN, sex offender registries is stolen satire | Fact check