ABC CEO Did Not Announce Plans to Cancel ‘The View’

A rumor that the CEO of TV network ABC announced plans to cancel the daytime talk show “The View” circulated online in mid-December 2024.

For example, the SpaceX Fanclub Facebook page made the claim in a post on Dec. 11, adding that the CEO supposedly called the show “TV’s worst show ever.” The post did not name the in-question executive — Dana Walden currently serves as CEO — but it displayed a picture of ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic

Some Facebook users seemed to interpret the rumor as true. However, there was no evidence of an ABC executive announcing plans to cancel the show. Likewise, no reputable media outlets reported on such a rumor, which would be eminently newsworthy if it had some level of legitimacy.

Rather, the rumor originated with Esspots.com — a website that describes its output as satire and parody. The site’s “About Us” page states:

Welcome to the US page of Esspots (A Subsidiary of SpaceXMania.com specializing in Satire and Parody News), your one-stop destination for satirical news and commentary about the United States of America. Our team of writers and editors is dedicated to bringing you the latest and greatest in fake news and absurdity, all with a healthy dose of humor and satire.
Likewise, the SpaceX Fanclub Facebook page, which is affiliated with Esspots.com, states in its intro: “We post SATIRE, nothing on this page is real.”

Esspots.com has a history of making up stories for shares and comments, sometimes relying on artificial intelligence (AI) writing software to do its storytelling.

Snopes has addressed similar fictional claims about “The View” in the past, including rumors that the show was ending in 2025 due to declining audience numbers and that Elon Musk was looking to buy ABC so he could cancel “The View.”

For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.