A video shows a report from an American TV show about Disney growing child stars in its genetic engineering lab.
This isn’t real. The clip was created by the satire outlet The Onion, for its 2011 TV series ‘The Onion News Network’.
A satirical news report which says that Disney grows child stars in its own genetic engineering lab is being shared and engaged with online by some users who appear to believe it is real.
The video, which has amassed 1.2 million views on Facebook, resembles a US TV morning show, whose host says that “the newest batch of Disney Channel stars grown in the Disney genetic engineering lab” would be unveiled later that week. The hosts then interview “lead geneticist Dr Andrew Rourke” from Disney’s “Genetic Imagineering Compound”.
Text overlaid on the clip says “DISNEY Child CLONES On Tv?”.
While it may seem obvious that this is not a real TV news segment, some of the comments on the video being shared on Facebook suggest that some people are taking it at face value.
These include comments saying “The easiest way to lie to you is to tell you the truth and make it unbelievable. Cause you can't say they didn't tell you” and “How sick can u really be and if your a parent u have an obligation to research everything always to protect your children [sic]”.
But this is not a real report. It is a joke clip, created by the satirical outlet The Onion. It was uploaded to The Onion’s YouTube channel in 2008, with the title: “Disney Geneticists Debut New Child Stars.”
The video’s description says: “Disney claims its latest batch of child stars is so lifelike, you'll barely be able to tell they have no souls.”
A logo in the bottom left corner of the original video, which is partially obscured in the Facebook version, says ‘today NOW!’, and the words ‘Onion News Network’ appear underneath the logo as a running ticker. The YouTube video also begins with a short title sequence that says “Onion News Network”.
The video was made as part of a web series launched by The Onion in 2007 on its YouTube channel.
At Full Fact we fact check many serious instances of misinformation online, but sometimes we also check videos or photos that seem obviously false to some, as it may not be apparent to everyone—particularly more casual internet users.
These have included an AI image of Sir Keir Starmer in a pink hijab, and a satirical claim that an Irish transgender person had married themself.
We’ve written in more detail about how we choose what to check in our blog.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as satire because the video is a satirical news report posted by The Onion in 2008, and not a real news report.
Full Fact fights for good, reliable information in the media, online, and in politics.
Bad information ruins lives. It promotes hate, damages people’s health, and hurts democracy. You deserve better.