Did actor Morgan Freeman "mercilessly" lecture White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on the topics of racism and inequality on live TV? No, that's not true: The story about the fictional TV-studio encounter was published by an anonymously registered website that listed no authors or publishers. Despite claims the encounter caused "a storm on social media" no actual media reported on any such event.
The viral article (archived here) making the claim was published by a site named "Read and know" on May 28, 2025 under a headline that read: "Karoline Leavitt was mercilessly lectured by Morgan Freeman on the topic of R@CIST and INEQU@LITY on live TV! When she tried to defend her point of view, Morgan Freeman responded with words so sharp and profound that it made her speechless. This tense moment left the audience "holding their breath" and caused a storm on social media with a series of heated debates! GT" which opened:
In a powerful and intense moment on live television, Karoline Leavitt found herself being sharply challenged by none other than Morgan Freeman on the pressing issues of racism and inequality. When Leavitt attempted to defend her stance, Freeman responded with words so profound and incisive that she was left utterly speechless.
The tension in the studio was palpable, with the audience seemingly "holding their breath" as the exchange unfolded. Freeman's thoughtful yet cutting remarks quickly dominated the conversation, turning the segment into one of the most talked-about moments of the broadcast.
This heated confrontation sparked a storm on social media, igniting fierce debates and discussions nationwide. The clash between Leavitt and Freeman not only highlighted the gravity of these societal issues but also showcased the power of honest, unflinching dialogue on live TV.
However a Google News search for media stories that mentioned "Karoline Leavitt", "Morgan Freeman" and "lectured" did not return any results (archived here), indicating the entire story was fictional.
The website "Read and know" used the domain name readtime.online, which has been anonymously registered in November 2024 according to WHOIS data (archived here). The "about" page of the website (archived here) did not list any owners or publishers and seemed to refer to the website as "ReadTime Online" instead of "Read and know".
The story in the article followed a formulaic structure often used in clickbait article headlines: a person, company or group that is liked or disliked by the intended audience for political or cultural reasons gets (fictionally) punished or rewarded in some way, for example by losing or gaining a contract, job, endorsement, business deal, award or title.
The article was referenced in several posts on Facebook with the link to the full article added to the first comment by the poster, a trick that evades some moderation and content filters on Facebook that only look at the content of a post itself.
Since first posting in November 2024 (archived here) the site published over 7400 articles, indicating it may be part of a content farm or spam network.
