Joe Rogan deletes fake tweet claiming Steven Seagal was joining Russian special forces
Podcaster Joe Rogan on Monday, February 28, shared and then deleted a parody tweet from CNN that claimed the actor Steven Seagal had joined Russian troops and was stationed near Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, amid Russia's invasion of the country.
Rogan shared a photoshopped image on his Instagram page which showed the actor in combat fatigues alongside what appeared to be Russian soldiers. Russia is currently in its fifth day of an all-out invasion of Ukraine. The image appeared as though it was a screenshot from CNN’s verified Twitter account. It read, “Intelligence agencies around the world have spotted American actor Steven Seagal among Russian special forces positioned around the outskirts of Gostomel airfield near Kyiv captured by Russian airborne troops.”
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(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
According to the Rolling Stones, the picture attached to the fake CNN tweet, which showed Seagal wearing military-esque camouflage gear and sunglasses, was a picture from the 2017 film 'Cartels'.
Rogan shared the tweet and wrote the caption, “If I had to guess the plot of this fucked up movie we’re living through I would say we are about 14 hours from the arrival of the aliens.”
The post was quickly deleted. Before it was deleted, Rogan's original post gained over 400,000 likes and 11,000 comments. Later, Rogan posted on Instagram to explain why he had removed the post. He says that he deleted it as it was a parody, and that he would not be surprised if it was true.
“I deleted my earlier post about Steven Seagal being in Ukraine because it was a parody, which isn’t surprising, but honestly it wouldn’t be surprising if it was true either".
He added that Seagal "was banned from Ukraine in 2017 because he was labeled as a national security threat" and shared a picture of a Washington Post article from 2017 that detailed the actor's "bromance" with Russian President Vladimir Putin and reported that Ukraine prohibited him from entering the country for five years because he was a security threat. Seagal, has a long and well-documented relationship with Putin that is reportedly centered on their mutual passion for martial arts.
Rogan has a history of making explosive remarks and sharing misinformation on his podcast 'The Joe Rogan Experience,' which streams on Spotify. He previously suggested on his show that young people didn't need to get vaccinated and touted the drug ivermectin as part of his COVID-19 recovery regimen despite the FDA and CDC warning against its use.
In January and early February, several prominent musicians like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, campaigned to get Rogan's podcast pulled from Spotify. Both Young and Mitchell pulled their music from the streaming service, saying it was allowing the influencer to spread COVID-19 misinformation.