Did a Pornhub notification pop up on a CNN display screen during live coverage of the 2020 election? No, that's not true: It appears that an unwanted notification may have appeared in the display, which CNN's chief national correspondent, John King, promptly moved off the screen. The Pornhub logo was edited into a clip of CNN coverage after the fact and posted to poke fun at King and/or CNN.
The edited video originated as a tweet published by Punt Club on November 6, 2020 (archived here) which opened:
"We've all been there with the betting app up on the screen...or something else...#PuntClub #Punters #Elections2020 ???? https://t.co/zFadCGtuOO"
This is what the post looked like on Twitter at the time of writing:
(Source: Twitter screenshot taken on Sat Nov 7 00:13:39 2020 UTC)
As Wolf Blitzer introduced Allegheny County, Pennsylvania executive Rich Fitzgerald to discuss the election results by phone, a rectangular black notification dropped down on his digital screen. It appeared to have handwritten numerals on it. King deftly pushed the unwelcome intruder off the "magic wall" display and seemed to glare at someone positioned off camera. In case it wasn't obvious, the logo for Pornhub, a video-sharing site for pornography, was edited over the John King video. It is obviously fake, since it moves unsteadily and out-of-level into position unlike a real notification.
Here's the unedited video:
❌ Non, aucun onglet Pornhub n'est apparu à l'antenne sur @CNN. Vous pouvez reprendre une activité normale. pic.twitter.com/lLQyyxhNfc
-- Boris Kharlamoff (@BorisKharlamoff) November 6, 2020
King responded to a Twitter user with his own tweet, blaming the prank on, "Some clown taking time away from lying about something else apparently because they don't like math."
Not. Some clown taking time away from lying about something else apparently because they don't like math. https://t.co/IcfHQ3gzDQ
-- John King (@JohnKingCNN) November 6, 2020
