MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Is the CNN Doritos correction fake? Here's the truth behind viral screenshots of Senator Ted Cruz's QAnon pin

The joke seems to be based on a real correction that CNN was actually forced to issue about Ted Lieu and his energy bar

On Friday, January 15, a screenshot of CNN issuing a correction on one of their stories began doing the rounds on the Internet. The screenshot features the news giant mistaking a Dorito chip for a QAnon pin on Texas senator Ted Cruz's coat. This viral image sent the Internet into a frenzy, forcing CNN'S Head of Strategic Communications Matt Dornic to issue a tweet clarifying that no such correction was ever issued. 

The viral screenshot reads, "CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated that Sen. Ted Cruz was seen wearing a pin featuring a QAnon symbol. It was later discovered that this was not a QAnon pin but a Doritos snack chip stuck to his suit."

While the Internet was going wild mocking CNN for its correction, Matt had to post a statement on his Twitter declaring that no such correction was issued by CNN. He wrote, "I can’t believe I have to tweet this but no, CNN did not issue a correction about Ted Cruz, QAnon and Doritos ????” Senator Ted Cruz took the whole thing in his stride and played along by reposting the screenshot, with a caption declaring his love for Doritos. He wrote, "I do love Doritos."

Although people seemed to be enjoying the joke, Matt, however, didn't seem too pleased with it. When a user responded to his clarification with a suggestion of just enjoying the "hilarious" joke, he fired back saying how fake news isn't funny. Matt tweeted, "For people who get the joke. But it’s an actual alert in news tracking system and we’ve received inquiries. So no, I don’t think fake news is that funny." 

“QAnon” is allegedly a baseless Internet conspiracy theory whose followers believe that a ring of Satan-worshipping Democrats, Hollywood celebrities and billionaires run the world while engaging in pedophilia, human trafficking and the harvesting of a supposedly life-extending chemical from the blood of these sexually abused children.

QAnon supporters also allegedly believe that President Donald Trump is pursuing a secret battle against this ring or cabal and its “deep state” contributors to expose the culprits and send them all to Guantánamo Bay.

The joke seems to be based on a real correction that CNN was actually forced to issue on Thursday, January 14. CNN mistakenly reported that Democratic California Rep Ted Lieu "grabbed a crowbar" during the Capitol riot, when in reality he reportedly grabbed an energy bar called ProBar during the riots.

The correction was made to the story 'How a swift impeachment was born under siege', by Jeremy Herb, Phil Mattingly, Lauren Fox, and Manu Raju. The correction statement reads, "CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated that Rep Ted Lieu grabbed a crowbar before leaving his office. He grabbed a ProBar energy bar."