CBS News fired three “60 Minutes” correspondents in the past few weeks, and social media rumors said that a popular podcaster may be up for the job.
“NEW: Joe Rogan is reportedly being considered as a possible ‘60 Minutes’ replacement for Anderson Cooper,” the betting site Polymarket posted June 4 on X.
Other X accounts posted the same claim.
CBS News recently fired correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega and Scott Pelley; Anderson Cooper announced his departure in February and his final episode as a correspondent aired in May. The network hired Nick Bilton as the new executive producer for “60 Minutes.”
But CBS News has debunked the claims that the network is floating Rogan as Cooper’s replacement.
The claim stemmed from a March article by the entertainment news site RadarOnline, which reported the network is “looking to pin down Joe Rogan” as a replacement for Cooper. RadarOnline did not name any sources in the article, and did not provide any information on how it got what it described as its “exclusive.”
RadarOnline’s report was cited in a June 3 Austin American-Statesman article, initially headlined, “Could Joe Rogan replace Anderson Cooper on ‘60 Minutes’? Here’s what we know.”
The Austin American-Statesman later updated its story to say CBS News “has denied reports” of Rogan replacing Cooper as correspondent, with a spokesperson saying those reports are “false.”
The newspaper revised its headline to reflect the network’s statement, and it now reads: “CBS News says Joe Rogan is not in consideration to replace Anderson Cooper on ’60 Minutes.'”
In its own June 4 story, Forbes credited CBS News spokesperson Jeremy Adler as saying the rumors are false.
PolitiFact contacted CBS News and Rogan but received no response. We are not able to verify internal company discussions, but there has been no public evidence to support the rumors. Rogan hasn’t publicly addressed the rumors.
We have fact-checked other claims from RadarOnline articles that lacked evidence, including one that said former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were divorcing and another that said actor Jamie Foxx was on life support.
This is not the first time social media posts have claimed Rogan will replace on-air talent. We rated False a 2024 claim that he’d replace Rachel Maddow on MSNBC.
