CNN fell flat on its face again when they aired a segment about the run-off Senate election in Georgia on Thursday when they said they interviewed a supposed supporter of Herschel Walker. Turns out the "supporter" is a comedian who regularly trolls GOP events.
CNN anchor Jim Sciutto introduced the segment as "someone who’s standing by Walker, despite the scandals that have plagued his campaign."
"I just think how he talks and, like, the stories he tells, and you know. He’s off the cuff. He’s not all serious about everything. Everything is not a big deal to him, you know? Is he the best candidate for the job? Maybe not. Is he the most qualified guy in the world? I dunno, maybe not, but does he have a great attitude? Yes!" the man in an "I'm With Herschel" shirt told CNN.
Mediaite reported the man, who said his name was Jake Byrd, is actually comedy writer Tony Barbieri. His work has been featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live! multiple times in segments of himself trolling right-wing functions. His appearances in character have happened at presidential debates and Donald Trump fundraisers.
The media have been falling for pranksters lately with the recent example of two men who claimed they were recent Twitter employees who were fired after Elon Musk took over. They gave their names as Rahul Ligma and Daniel Johnson, with one of the jokes being their last names together is "Ligma Johnson." Another hint the pair were not actual former Twitter employees was when Johnson said he had to talk about the situation "with my husband and wife."
Some guys just absolutely trolled local media outside Twitter's headquarters pretending to be a fired software engineer:
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 28, 2022
"I have to go touch base with my husband and wife." pic.twitter.com/B84ScRUqDk