claim: Fox News reported the former FBI director had resigned, when he had in fact been fired.
origin: On 9 May 2017, President Donald TrumpÂ firedÂ James ComeyÂ from his position as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The cable network Fox News reported the news live during the program â€œThe Fox News Specialists.â€ They initially reported Comey had resigned. The erroneous graphic announcing that Comey had stepped down of his own volitionÂ appears at the 33-minute mark: About one minute later, Bolling again broke in with the correction that Comey had been dismissed by President Donald Trump, saying â€œ[White House Press Secretary] Sean Spicerâ€™s just told the press that the president has accepted the attorney generalâ€™s recommendation to dismiss â€” dismiss James Comey.â€ Although the graphic did briefly appear on the screen, Fox News quickly corrected the error after receiving the news live on air.