ABC News memo about 'DEI' at Trump-Harris debate? No, that started as satire | Fact check

The claim: Image shows ABC memo telling moderators to treat Trump-Harris debate ‘as you would a DEI hire’

A Sept. 12 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be an ABC News memo sent a day before the presidential debate it hosted between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

“Donald Trump is a white male. Kamala Harris is a Woman of Color," reads part of the supposed memo. "We urge you to treat this debate as you would a DEI hire."

DEI is an acronym for diversity, equity and inclusion.

It goes on to say Trump “shall be questioned and fact-checked in real time” while Harris “shall be treated as a Black female, not Asian-American.”

Between this version and others like it on Facebook, the image was shared more than 50 times in a day. It also was shared hundreds of times on X, formerly Twitter.

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Our rating: Altered

The memo is a fabrication. It originated on a satirical account.

ABC News debate memo fabricated, 'absolutely satire'

Harris and Trump spent more than 90 minutes trading barbs, claims and policy proposals Sept. 10 during their first – and possibly only – presidential debate ahead of the November presidential election. ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis at times interjected with real-time fact-checks, a move that drew criticism from Trump and his supporters.

Fact check: No, those weren't transmitters in Kamala Harris' ears during debate

But the purported memo is not real. It’s a fabrication, according to the publisher of the satirical account that first shared it.

Adam Iverson, who publishes the satirical account News That Matters, told USA TODAY in an email that it is "absolutely satire."

News That Matters, which describes itself in its bio as the “bourbon drinking satirical right," first shared the image of the supposed memo to X on Sept. 12. In the post pinned atop its X feed, it states that “A new study shows that a shocking number of American adults have trouble spelling the word ‘satire,’ let alone recognizing it.” A subsequent post from the account also confirms the memo's satirical origin.

There is no credible news reporting corroborating the existence of such a memo from ABC.

The post is an example of what could be called "stolen satire," where claims written as satire and presented that way originally are reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.

An ABC News spokesperson did not provide an on-the-record response to a USA TODAY request for comment. USA TODAY reached out to several social media users who shared the image, but none who responded provided evidence to support the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

• Adam Iverson, Sept. 13, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• News That Matters, Sept. 12, X post

• News That Matters, Sept. 13, X post

• News That Matters, accessed Sept. 13, X profile

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Viral image of ABC News debate memo is a fabrication | Fact check