No, CNN did not report Trump soiled himself in court during hush money trial | Fact check

Chris Mueller, USA TODAY
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The claim: Image shows CNN reported Trump soiled himself in court

An April 20 Threads post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be a CNN headline about an embarrassing incident involving a former president.

"Trump soils himself in court," reads the purported headline.

The post was liked more than 80 times in four days.

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Our rating: Altered

The image is fabricated. A spokesperson for the news network said it didn't report such a claim. There is no evidence of the article on CNN's website.

CNN headline is fabricated

The claim refers to former President Donald Trump's ongoing hush money trial, which began April 15 and had opening statements April 22. Trump is the first former president to stand trial in a criminal case. He is accused of falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

But the headline in the Threads post isn't real. There is no evidence of it anywhere on CNN's website.

"This image was fabricated and not something CNN ever reported," said CNN spokesperson Emily Kuhn.

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The post was shared on April 20 – a Saturday, when court was not in session. CNN published articles about Trump's trial on April 19, when jury selection finished, and April 22, when opening statements took place and witness testimony began. There is no mention of anything similar to the claim in those articles, nor is such an incident mentioned in any of CNN's coverage since then.

Trump's behavior in and out of court has made headlines during the trial. Maggie Haberman, a reporter for The New York Times, reported that Trump appeared to be sleeping in the courtroom on the first day of his trial, a claim Trump's campaign denied. In addition, Judge Juan Merchan is considering whether to punish Trump for allegedly violating his gag order by commenting on potential witnesses in the case.

The social media user who shared the post could not be reached for comment.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CNN headline about Trump soiling himself is fabricated | Fact check