Doctored CNN story about Moïse shared on social media

An image of what looks like a screenshot of a CNN news story is being shared on social media with this headline: "Haiti President Jovenel Moïse assassinated in attack on his residence. U.S Troops on their way."

The image makes it look like the story was updated at 3:41 p.m. EDT on July 7. 

The text below an image of Moïse and an image of what appear to be members of the U.S. Air Force goes on to say that "President Joe Biden has authorized this afternoon a U.S. intervention in Haiti after the assassination of president Jovenel Moïse who was gunned down last night at his residence. … The commanding officer of all U.S. forces, General Micheal X Garrett, confirmed that an initial force of 10.000 US soldiers will be sent." 

A post sharing this screenshot was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

We searched CNN’s website for the headline in the screenshot and didn’t find it, but there are more clues that this image doesn’t show an authentic CNN story.  

First, the font CNN uses for its headlines is different than what appears in the Facebook post. You can see an example in another story CNN published about the assassinaton on July 8 with no mention of Biden dispatching U.S. troops to Haiti. 

Second, CNN articles have bylines and there are none in the Facebook post. 

Third, the style of the time and date the story was published or updated is different in the post than in other CNN stories. 

Featured Fact-check

Facebook posts

stated on September 27, 2024 in a video

Shows video of damage from Hurricane Helene.

Fourth, the story text in the post is in a different font than other CNN articles and fifth, the text in the post has typos and errors. Gen. Michael X. Garrett — not Micheal, as the post says — is the commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command. 

After Moïse was assassinated on July 7, Biden issued a statement condemning the "heinous attack" and said that the "United States offers condolences to the people of Haiti and we stand ready to assist as we continue to work for a safe and secure Haiti." 

He did not say he was sending 10,000 troops there.

In the days since this fake CNN headline was published, Haiti has asked for U.S. troops to help stabilize the country in the wake of the killing. In a story updated on July 13, the New York Times reported that officials in the Biden administration have thus far "expressed caution about any deployment to Haiti."

We rate this Facebook post False.