Viral claim that Riley Gaines called Whoopi Goldberg a ‘disgrace’ is satire

ABC’s daytime talk show "The View" is no stranger to heated exchanges, but is this one real? 

"Riley Gaines criticizes Whoopi Goldberg on The View: ‘You’re a disgrace to real women!’" read a Nov. 2 Threads post. 

The post earned over 4,000 likes, and 183 comments, with many believing the claim, writing, "I'm on Riley's side," and "Yes Whoopi is a major disgrace!" 

But this exchange never happened. The story originated as satire. 

(Screenshot of Threads post)

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

A similar claim appeared on a satire website, SpaceXArena, in June: "Riley Gaines slams Whoopi Goldberg: "You Are A Disgrace To A Real Women." 

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Viral image

stated on October 10, 2024 in a Threads post

Image shows the projected trajectory for a Hurricane Nadine is “the same path as Helene.”

SpaceXArena’s about us page says, "We use parody and exaggeration to mock current events and trends…We are not a reliable source of information, but rather a platform for fun and comedy." 

But when the claim was reshared on Threads, it was not labeled as satire, and neither was the article it linked to. PolitiFact has fact-checked numerous claims that have originated on similar satire websites that have later spread without a satire label. 

PolitiFact also searched the Nexis news database for headlines about this exchange taking place and found none. 

Gaines, a former college swimming champion, has become outspoken against transgender athletes participating in women’s sports. 

Although Gaines has criticized other "The View" hosts, PolitiFact found no evidence that Gaines has appeared on the show.

Gaines posted on X about Goldberg once, to debunk another piece of viral misinformation that Gaines won a $10 million defamation lawsuit. She didn’t; that claim also originated as satire. 

We rate the claim that Gaines criticized Goldberg on "The View" False.