Did Rachel Maddow, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel just team up and launch a newsroom named "The Independent Desk"? No, that's not true: The story appeared on a recently launched website that does not list owners or publishers and it just adds Jimmy Kimmel to an older false story about Maddow and Colbert. The new story also contains verifiably untrue details about a non-existing pair of viral hashtags and a social media reaction.
The story appeared in an article (archived here) published on a website named Buzzreport247 on September 18, 2025 under a headline that read "😱🔥 BREAKING: Maddow, Colbert, and Kimmel Just Walked Away From the System -- And Built a Newsroom That Has Networks Shaking". It opened:
For decades, American audiences have turned to three familiar faces to make sense of politics, culture, and late-night chaos. Rachel Maddow, MSNBC's intellectual anchor. Stephen Colbert, the sharp-tongued satirist turned late-night king. Jimmy Kimmel, the mainstream jester who could mix celebrity fun with biting political monologues. Together, they commanded millions and shaped national conversations.
But now, the unthinkable has happened. Maddow, Colbert, and Kimmel have walked away from the corporate system that made them stars -- and joined forces to build something entirely new. What started as private conversations about editorial freedom has become a full-blown rebellion: an independent newsroom, free of advertisers, liberated from network executives, and determined to deliver truth without compromise.
Insiders are calling it The Independent Desk. And from its very first broadcast, it sent shockwaves through the media establishment.
The story echoed older, similar claims about Maddow and Colbert starting a show together, which Lead Stories debunked here after Maddow published a denial.
The new version of the tale included a section describing the alleged first broadcast that just happened:
The first broadcast was nothing short of an earthquake.
Maddow opened with a searing investigation into corporate lobbying in Washington -- a story she claimed her old network "softened" in the past.
Colbert followed with a brutal monologue skewering both Democrats and Republicans alike.
Kimmel closed the night with a raw confession: "Late-night has turned into celebrity karaoke. It used to be about speaking truth to power. We're here to take that back."
Audiences devoured it. Within minutes, the livestream was overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of viewers. Hashtags #TheNewNewsroom and #TruthUnfiltered trended for hours.
However, a search on X for posts with the hashtags #TheNewNewsroom or #TruthUnfiltered only brought up a handful of posts (archived here) about a podcast named "Open Mic Ladies" in the past few days.
(Image search: screenshot of search results for #TheNewNewsroom or #TruthUnfiltered on x.com.)
The article also claimed the following reaction appeared on social media:
Perhaps the strongest endorsement has come from viewers themselves. Comment sections and social feeds overflowed with relief.
One viewer posted on X: "For the first time in years, I feel like I'm watching news not filtered by advertisers. Maddow looks free. Colbert looks alive. Kimmel looks real. This is what we've been waiting for."
But a search for that passage on X returned no results (archived here) at the time of writing.
The website Buzzreport247 did not appear to list any owners or publishers and WHOIS records (archived here) of the site's domain name indicate it was anonymously registered in July 2025.
