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TikTok posts
stated on June 28, 2024 in a video:
CNN's David Chalian referred to Michelle Obama as "Big Mike" on air during presidential debate coverage.
- National
- Debates
- Elections
- TikTok posts
By Mia PennerJune 28, 2024
If Your Time is short
David Chalian did not mention Michelle Obama.
CNN told PolitiFact that this video was digitally altered with fake audio.
In the original June 27 video clip, Chalian discussed the results of CNN polls conducted prior to the debate.
See the sources for this fact-check
The CNN video clip shared on X and TikTok following the June 27 presidential debate started off believable enough, with political analyst David Chalian announcing the results of a viewer poll.
"‘Who won the debate?’ we asked debate watchers," he said. "And the answer is a resounding ‘Donald Trump did.’" Chalian went on to say that 67% of viewers said former President Donald Trump outperformed President Joe Biden during the first 2024 presidential debate.
But 13 seconds into the 31-second clip, Chalian appeared to let a profanity slip as he talked about other prominent Democrats: "I don’t give a sh– if they bring out Gavin Newsom or maybe Hilary Clinton or even Big Mike. I mean, even Michelle Obama. Sorry, I don’t know why I said ‘Big Mike.’"
TikTok identified this video as part of its efforts to counter inauthentic, misleading or false content. (Read moreabout PolitiFact’s partnership with TikTok.)
(Screengrab from TikTok)
A spokesperson for CNN confirmed to PolitiFact that the video was doctored. Readers also added context on the X post, claiming the clip was "digitally altered with a fake voice."
In the original video, Chalian did not speculate about alternative Democratic nominees. Rather, he discussed the results of CNN polls conducted before the debate.
Featured Fact-check
X posts
stated on May 30, 2024 in posts on X
Photo shows the judges who will hear the appeal of former President Donald Trump’s criminal conviction.
"Now, this group of debate watchers, they told us who they thought would win the debate going into it, before the debate, and take a look at how that changed over time," Chalian said. "Fifty-five percent thought before the debate that Donald Trump would win the debate. Forty-five percent thought Joe Biden would win the debate. Look at what the debate did to those expectations."
Chalian never mentioned Michelle Obama. We rate the video that claimed he did False.
Read About Our Process
The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter
Our Sources
X post, June 28, 2024
TikTok post, June 28, 2024
Internet Archive, CNN post-debate analysis, June 27, 2024
Email interview with Dylan Rose Geerlings, CNN Director of Communications, June 28, 2024
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
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