Did actor Kevin Costner file a lawsuit against the American Broadcasting Company's television talk show "The View" for hate speech? No, that's not true: This claim originated from a self-described satirical website aimed at trolling conservatives. Lead Stories could find no credible news reports or public statements confirming that Costner sued ABC or "The View." The website that posted the Costner information, The Dunning-Kruger Times, has a disclaimer that describes itself as part of a network of "parody, satire, and tomfoolery." Christopher Blair, the originator of this website, has a history of trolling using satirical news stories.
The claim appeared in an article published by The Dunning-Kruger Times, titled "Kevin Costner Sues 'The View' For Hate Speech." The earliest record of this article appeared on February 10, 2023 (archived here). The article opened:
You're certainly familiar with the name Kevin Costner. He's been a friendly part of your Hollywood entertainment since Bull Durham, rising even more to star in classics like Field of Dreams, Waterworld, and of course, his newest outing, Paramount television's Yellowstone.
Now, in possibly the most irrational and badly thought-out article in recent memory, Costner has filed suit against the ABC television network and specifically, the program The View, for spreading 'hate speech'. The entire proposition makes literally no sense at all, so strap in.
Below is how the article appeared at the time of the writing of this fact check:
(Source: The Dunning-Kruger Times screenshot taken Fri May 12 08:14:00 UTC 2023)
Versions of the claim were reposted on social media as authentic news. The website faithopel.info republished the story verbatim on May 11, 2023, but without The Dunning-Kruger Times' disclaimer about satire.
A search of Google News, which indexes thousands of credible news sites, using the keywords "Kevin Costner sues 'The View' over hate speech," produced no credible independent reports supporting the claim that Costner had launched a lawsuit against ABC for hate speech on "The View." If he had done so, Costner's celebrity status means that it would have been covered widely.
The Dunning-Kruger Times website is part of the satirical network America's Last Line of Defense, the work of Christopher Blair, a notorious liberal prankster who produces fake claims to troll conservatives. The Dunning-Kruger Times has an About Us page (archived here) with the following disclaimer:
About Us
Dunning-Kruger-Times.com is a subsidiary of the 'America's Last Line of Defense' network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery, or as Snopes called it before they lost their war on satire: Junk News
About Satire
Before you complain and decide satire is synonymous with 'comedy':
sat·ire ˈsaˌtī(ə)r noun: The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, OR ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site's pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical. See above if you're still having an issue with that satire thing.
The website is named after the Dunning-Kruger effect, a term from the field of psychology that describes the phenomenon of being ignorant of one's own ignorance.
Christopher Blair has made it his full-time job to troll gullible conservatives and Trump supporters into liking and sharing his articles. He runs several other websites, including wearethellod.com, bustatroll.org or bebest.website. Sometimes he is also known under his nickname "Busta Troll."
Blair and his operation were profiled by The Washington Post on November 17, 2018:
'Nothing on this page is real': How lies become truth in online America
Articles from Blair's sites frequently get copied by sites masquerading as "real" news sites. These sites often omit the satire disclaimer and any other hints that the shared stories are fake. Blair has tried to get these sites shut down, but new ones keep cropping up. If you are interested in learning more about Blair and the history of his sites, here is something to get you started:
The Ultimate Christopher Blair and America's Last Line of Defense Reading List | Lead Stories
If you see one of his stories on a site that does not contain a satire disclaimer, assume it is fake news. If you do see the satire disclaimer, it is, of course, also fake news.
Lead Stories has flagged other satirical stories shared as authentic, including that Elon Musk did not decline a $120 million Bud Light Twitter marketing campaign, that Tucker Carlson did not turn down a $30-million offer from CNN and that Anheuser-Busch did not close half of its U.S. breweries because of a marketing "goof."
