A screenshot of a fabricated Newshub headline alleging Jacinda Ardern has filed to have AM co-host Ryan Bridge banned from media platforms has been interpreted as genuine by some social media users.
The headline reads: 'PM Jacinda Ardern has filled [sic] to have Ryan Bridge banned from all major platforms, and rejects any further interviews with the reporter.'
Social media posts of the headline, which include a screenshot of Bridge interviewing Ardern last week, claim the article is from Newshub's website.
"All because he doesn't keep to your script and asks some 'hard questions' that you don't like," one post says.
The headline has spelling and style errors. "Filed" is incorrectly spelled as "filled" and the headline also contains a full stop. Newshub does not use full stops in its headlines.
Bridge himself has since addressed the headline - confirming it's fake.
"I literally had hundreds of people message me - it's a fake headline," he said during Monday's edition of AM.
"It's obviously not true… she has not had me banned from this platform because here I am."
"To be clear, this is not a Newshub headline - someone has altered a Newshub headline," added AM co-host Melissa Chan-Green.
Newshub and AM are owned by Discovery ANZ, a private company that the Government has no authority over.
Ardern herself also rejected the fake headline.
"Clearly, that is rubbish," she said. "I think most people would know that would be rubbish.
"I hate to say it but welcome to my world. A lot of rubbish flies around and if you spend all your time dismissing it you'd be quite exhausted."
Verdict
Fake news. Newshub did not publish a story with such a headline and the claims are false. The image is photoshopped.
