In early 2024, posts appeared on various social media platforms, from Facebook to X (formerly Twitter), from YouTube to TikTok, all claiming that actor Keanu Reeves publicly declined to present a “Lifetime Achievement Award” to actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg. According to the posts, he supposedly said in his refusal: “She’s not a good person.”
In today’s era of instant information and social media frenzy, it’s more important than ever to question the validity of the stories we encounter online. A recent incident involving actor Keanu Reeves and actress Whoopi Goldberg serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of fake news.
A tweet went viral, claiming that Keanu Reeves had refused to present Whoopi Goldberg with a lifetime achievement award, citing her as ‘not a good person.’ However, there is absolutely no evidence to support this claim. The false tweet gained tremendous traction, amassing over 2 million views on X, a popular social media platform.
A headline from an article on a satirical website saying Keanu Reeves declined to present an award to fellow actor Whoopi Goldberg has misled social media users.
Widely-shared posts on Facebook, opens new tab show images of the two celebrities alongside the text: “Keanu Reeves Refuses to Present Whoopi Goldberg’s Lifetime Achievement Award: ‘She’s Not a Good Person’,” drawing comments such as, “Good for him ! Excellent judge of character,” and “Good move Keanu!”
However, that headline first appeared in a satirical article on the Dunning-Kruger Times, opens new tab website, which describes itself, opens new tab as part of “America’s Last Line Of Defense’s (ALLOD) network of parody, satire and tomfoolery.” America’s Last Line Of Defense shared a link to the article, opens new tab with the same images on Facebook on Jan. 24.
Some users sharing the false claim linked to similar articles on websites that repeated the original headline, such as today48.com, opens new tab.
The original satirical article described a nonexistent award, the “Lifetime Achievement award by the TV Production Committee,” as the one Reeves, as well as other celebrities, had refused to present.
The posts did not say who, or what organization, was supposedly sponsoring the in-question “Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Snopes traced the claim to an article published in mid-January 2024 by The Dunning-Kruger Times, a publication within a collection of websites and social media pages operated by America’s Last Line of Defense (ALLOD). The story in question began as follows:
Keanu Reeves Refuses to Present Whoopi Goldberg’s Lifetime Achievement Award: “She’s Not a Good Person”
Keanu Reeves is one of the nicest, most genuine people in Hollywood. Whoopi Goldberg, on the other hand, was recently voted “most hated person” in Tinsel Town, a distinction nobody seems to be able to refute.
Reeves was chosen to present this year’s Lifetime Achievement award by the TV Production Committee, a role he was honored to take on…until he heard that he’d have to share the stage and present the award to Whoopi Goldberg.
The story, however, was fictional. The Dunning-Kruger Times is dedicated to publishing “parody, satire, and tomfoolery,” just like other sites and social media in the ALLOD network. As such, no information originating from these sources should be assumed to be truthful.
