A CNN story reported that Rice Krispies added a transgender mascot.
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Boxes of Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal sit on display in a market in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018. (AP)
CNN did not report that Kellogg’s made one of its mascots a transgender character.
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Spokespeople from both CNN and Kellogg’s told PolitiFact that the image showing what looks like a CNN headline about a Rice Krispies character is fabricated.
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The company has made no change to its Rice Krispies characters, a spokesperson said.
Word spread quickly of an alleged announcement that Kellogg’s had made one of its cereal mascots a transgender character.
"Kellogg’s spokesperson announces Rice Krispie mascot ‘Pop’ is now a trans woman," read screenshots of what appear to be a headline on CNN.com. Underneath the headline is an image of Rice Krispies characters Snap, Crackle and Pop, with Pop portrayed as a transgender woman.
But that claim just doesn’t float — it’s a fake image. The post 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 for the headline on CNN, but the story does not appear. Emily Kuhn, senior director of communications at CNN, told PolitiFact that the image of the headline was fake and fabricated.
"We have made no changes to the Rice Krispies mascots, Snap Crackle and Pop," Kellogg’s spokesperson Kris Bahner said.
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Our ruling
An image shared on Facebook claimed to show a CNN news story headline that read, "Kellogg’s spokesperson announces Rice Krispie mascot ‘Pop’ is now a trans woman."
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The image is fabricated and CNN confirmed they did not make that report. Kellogg’s has made no changes to its Rice Krispies characters.
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PolitiFact staff writer Bill McCarthy contributed to this fact check.
Our Sources
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CNN website search results, accessed May 24, 2022
Email interview with Emily Kuhn, senior director of communications at CNN, May 23, 2022
Email interview with Kris Bahner, Kellogg’s spokesperson, May 23, 2022
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CNN did not report that Kellogg’s made one of its mascots a transgender character.
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