Fact check: Don Lemon's prime-time CNN segment is being renamed, not canceled

Adrienne Dunn, USA TODAY
·2 min read

The claim: Don Lemon's CNN segment is ending

CNN's Don Lemon caused a stir on the internet after teasing that he had an announcement about his prime-time show, "CNN Tonight with Don Lemon."

Fans and critics alike assumed the prime-time anchor was leaving the network, which he has been working at since 2006.

A May 14 Instagram post from an account that pushes conspiracy theories shared a clip of Lemon teasing his show's announcement, with a caption that reads, "DON LEMON’s segment is ending ... The media is imploding!!!"

Other posts claimed similarly that the show was canceled, or that Lemon was stepping down.

Neither is true. Lemon's show is not being canceled, it's being renamed.

USA TODAY has reached out to the poster for comment.

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Segment is being renamed, not canceled

Lemon first mentioned his announcement in a video he posted to Twitter on May 14 and encouraged viewers to tune in.

"Tonight I have an announcement about the show ... end of an era, should I say that?" he said.

Two hours after posting the first video, Lemon tweeted another to assure viewers he wasn't leaving the network.

"Everybody calm down, I didn't say I was leaving CNN ... so relax, I'm not leaving."

In another tweet posted May 15, Lemon acknowledged the confusion again and explained that the show was being renamed, not canceled.

"Didn’t mean to set the internet on fire. What I said last night was true," he wrote. "CNN Tonight with Don Lemon is no more. I’ll be back on Monday with my newly named show Don Lemon Tonight."

Our ruling: False

The claim that Don Lemon's CNN segment is ending, or being canceled, is rated FALSE, because it is not supported by our research. Lemon's show, formerly named "CNN Tonight with Don Lemon" is being renamed to "Don Lemon Tonight." The segment is not being canceled, and Lemon is not leaving the network.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Don Lemon's CNN segment is not canceled, just renamed