Joe Rogan is being mocked mercilessly online after posting a spoof CNN report that claimed Steven Seagal was assisting the Russians in their ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Photo / Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan is being mocked mercilessly online after posting a spoof CNN report that claimed Steven Seagal was assisting the Russians in their ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Photo / Joe Rogan
Controversial podcaster Joe Rogan has been brutally mocked online after sharing a spoof CNN report that claimed Steven Seagal has joined the Russians in their invasion of Ukraine.
The post comes just days after Russia invaded Ukraine leading to the Ukranian president calling on citizens to make molotov cocktails and target the Russian army.
The screenshot, which Rogan shared to social media platforms on Monday, depicted the 69-year-old movie star holding a machine gun while wearing sunglasses and combat fatigues.
The fake caption claimed: "Intelligence agencies around the world have spotted American actor Steven Seagal among Russian special forces positioned around the outskirts of Gostomel airfield near Kyiv captured by Russian airborne troops."
Sharing the faux post, Rogan then commented, writing: "If I had to guess the plot of this f**ked up movie we're living through I would say we are about 14 hours from the arrival of the aliens."
Joe Rogan has since deleted the post. Photo / Joe Rogan
Social media users were quick to correct Rogan by pointing out the image was a scene from Seagal's 2016 thriller movie Sniper.
"This is obviously Photoshopped though," scoffed one detractor on Instagram. "I may be a beluga whale but I do make memes for a living so I like to think I can detect a meme with my sonar."
"I had to Google to make sure this wasn't real. Lol this world is bonkers," said another.
One critic wrote, "For anyone who thinks this is real: it's quite cold — about -2C — in most of Ukraine. This photo was clearly shot on a warm day."
Others accused him of being insensitive while innocent people are losing their lives.
"@joerogan I'd laugh, but my friends are dying," they added.
"Joe Rogan sharing misinformation while taking 70 episodes of his own show down," snarked another, in reference to Spotify's alleged culling of JRE episodes last month after the former comedian allegedly disseminated Covid disinformation.
Rogan deleted his post a short time afterwards, and replaced it with a screenshot of a real Washington Post article from five years ago which highlighted Russian President Vladimir Putin's "bromance" with Seagal.
The podcast host explained why he'd fallen for the fake post earlier, saying it "wouldn't be surprising if it was true".
"I deleted my earlier post about Steven Seagal being in Ukraine because it was parody, which isn't surprising, but honestly it wouldn't be surprising if it was true either.
"He was banned from Ukraine in 2017 because he was labelled as a national security threat. I, like all of you, hope the tragic situation is resolved there quickly."
Joe Rogan is being mocked mercilessly online after posting a spoof CNN report that claimed Steven Seagal was assisting the Russians in their ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Photo / Joe Rogan
This isn't the first time the conspiracy theorist has been accused of disseminating fake news.
Rogan found himself in hot water after doing a podcast with Dr Robert Malone, a vaccine scientist who reportedly spread misinformation regarding the Covid jab, and compared the US' current health climate to Nazi Germany.
