Fact Check-An image purporting to show CTV News headline that “conspiracy theorists keep getting things right” is digitally altered
Social media users have been sharing an image purporting to show a headline published by Canadian media outlet CTV News that “conspiracy theorists keep getting things right”. CTV News did not publish any such news article.
The CTV News masthead can be seen at the top of the image, which appears to be a screenshot, while the headline reads: “Conspiracy theorists keep getting things right; Experts say “that’s dangerous.”
The subheading reads: “Movements like the ‘freedom convoy’ are fueled by conspiracy theories, and when those theories are correct, it legitimizes them.”
One user who shared the image on Facebook said: “If we keep getting things right, I suppose they’re not so conspiratorial are they?” ( here ).
Another iteration of the image on Twitter gathered more than 21,500 likes at the time of writing ( here ).
Other examples of the image shared online can be found ( here ), ( here ), ( here ) and ( here ).
A spokesperson for CTV News told Reuters that no such article or headline was published by the outlet.
No article with the headline can be viewed on the CTV News website ( archive.ph/wip/NyCU2 ).
A Google advanced search did not reveal any such headline published the media outlet ( archive.ph/wip/mLzCB ).
A Twitter advanced search did not reveal the article published via the CTV News Twitter account (@CTVNews) ( bit.ly/3EOLDYt ).
The image of the protest used in the screenshot is viewable on Getty Images and was taken in Ottawa in February 2022 during protests against COVID-19 measures ( here ).
Reuters has previously addressed digitally altered images purporting to show legitimate headlines published by news organizations ( here ), ( here ).
VERDICT
Altered. The Canadian outlet CTV News did not publish an article with a headline reporting that “conspiracy theorists keep getting things right.” The image is digitally altered and no such headline was published by the outlet.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here .
