Don’t fall for fake news headlines about this pastor selling CBD

A web page that resembles the Fox News website, replete with the network’s logo in the left corner, claims that Baptist pastor Charles Stanley is selling CBD and that he said he "wouldn’t be here" without it. 

But the domain name for the page is not foxnews.com. It’s whatregistrater.com. Another web page with the same story has a different domain name, also unaffiliated with Fox — mangozhc.cc. 

This story isn’t authentic, and Stanley isn’t selling CBD, a chemical found in cannabis plants. Neither are Joel Osteen and Pat Robertson, two other television evangelists whose names and fabricated quotes endorsing CBD gummies are mentioned in the fake stories.

These blog posts were flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

Stanley is the pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church in Atlanta and the founder of In Touch Ministries, which on June 5 issued a warning that Stanley’s image was being misused.

"In Touch Ministries has received reports that scammers have been posting Dr. Charles Stanley’s image, falsely reporting that Dr. Stanley is beginning a new business venture in CBD oil," the message said. "Some of the articles even utilize fake Fox News headers to appear more convincing. However, none of it is true."

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Both fake news articles link to a site for a company that sells CBD products, and the page includes a form for customers to fill out and click "Rush my order." The Better Business Bureau shows a number of consumer complaints have been filed against the company.

We tried calling a phone number listed for the company, but no one answered and its voicemail box was full. We also sent an email to the company asking about fake news articles, but did not get an immediate response.

We rate claims that Stanley is selling CBD False.