Did conservative TV personality Candace Owens turn down an offer to be a host on "The View" television show while being quoted saying, "I'm not saving their dying show"? No, that's not true: This claim originated from an article on a satirical website known for publishing fabricated content. The website has a disclaimer that reads, "Everything on this website is fiction."
The claim appeared in a post on Facebook (archived here) on December 8, 2023, that linked to an article from The Dunning-Kruger Times of the same day. Below an image of Candace Owens holding a mic, the article began:
ABC's 'The View is in serious trouble. With the lowest ratings in daytime TV history, Producer Joe Barron has been exploring options to increase the viewer base. ... Candace would definitely solve that problem. She'd attract a conservative audience with her natural ability to insult whoever sits across the table from, her.
This is what the article looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: The Dunning-Kruger Times screenshot taken on Mon Dec 11 17:23:53 2023 UTC)
Joe Barron is not the producer of "The View" television show. Barron is the name of a deceased friend of Dunning-Kruger Times founder Christopher Blair.
Barron's name shows up as a critical witness or source in many of the parodies published by Blair, in made-up roles including the coach of the New York Jets, president of the NCAA and a "publishing mogul." While "The View" has multiple producers, none of them are Barron.
A search (archived here) for the headline, "Candace Owens Turns Down a Spot on The View: 'I'm Not Saving Their Dying Show'" using Google News' index of thousands of credible news sites did not reveal any factual reports.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks that mention Candace Owens and The Dunning-Kruger Times can be read here and here.
The Dunning-Kruger Times
The Dunning-Kruger Times is a satirical website with an about page (archived here) that has 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 a psychology experiment that describes the phenomenon of being ignorant of one's own ignorance. (That experiment has been disputed by a math professor.)
It is run by self-described liberal troll Christopher Blair.
