ABC fires debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis? No, that's satire

The claim: ABC fired presidential debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis

A September 13 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes images of ABC News journalists David Muir and Linsey Davis moderating the September 10 presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

“ABC fires debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis: ‘They are a disgrace to their profession,'” reads the post’s caption.

The post was shared over 2,000 times within three days.

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Our rating: False

There is no truth to this claim. It originally came from a satirical website but was presented elsewhere as authentic news.

Claim about ABC News presenters is stolen satire

Muir and Davis drew Trump's ire for fact-checking him live during the debate. And although the former president has called for ABC to be stripped of its broadcast license for being unfair to him during the debate, the network is still on the air and the moderators are still employed by ABC.

The claim that Muir and Davis were fired was first spread on September 12 by Espots, a satirical website that is part of the SpaceXMania network. Espots' website includes a satire disclaimer, and the original article was so labeled, as was a Facebook post in a SpaceX Mania-affiliated Facebook group that referenced the article.

However, in subsequent posts repeating the claim, the disclaimer was nowhere to be found.

The September 13 Facebook post is an example of what might be called “stolen satire”: stories originally written and presented as satire are taken up and reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news, thereby misleading the second-generation readers of the post, as was the case here.

Fact check: No evidence that there were transmitters in Kamala Harris' earrings during the debate

There have been no announcements that ABC has fired Muir or Davis. Hours after the allegation began circulating on Sept. 12, Muir was on the air, anchoring ABC World News Tonight.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the claim for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Lead Stories also refuted this claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Claim that ABC fired David Muir and Linsey Davis was originally satire | Fact check