Americans are learning a lot about Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., since his fellow Republicans named him speaker Oct. 25. But a viral rumor about Johnson and former adult film star Stormy Daniels is not credible.
“BREAKING FOX NEWS: Stormy Daniels admits to having a business relationship with Speaker Mike Johnson,” said the Nov. 11 X post that got more than 1 million views and included side-by-side headshots of Johnson and Daniels.
Screenshots of the post quickly spread across Facebook, X, and TikTok with no sign they were posing as anything other than actual news.
(Screenshot of X post)
But the post is not news — neither “breaking” nor “developing.” It was created as satire. The X account that first posted the claim, @PatMaguire10, describes itself as an “unfiltered parody account.” Other social media users saw the post and reshared it without that disclaimer.
There are no articles from Fox News reporting this story. And a Fox News spokesperson confirmed the network never reported this.
Daniels became a household name in 2018 after she said she had sex with President Donald Trump in 2006 while he was married. Trump has repeatedly denied the claims.
Trump in April pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in New York, charges that prosecutors said stemmed from a 2016 “hush money” payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
We rate the claim that Fox News reported on a “business relationship” between Johnson and Daniels False.
