The claim also alleged $1.2 million of the grant had gone to “designer robes for Whoopi so she could look ‘like a wise oracle of truth.'”
In early March 2025, a rumor began circulating online that the Department of Government Efficiency — of which U.S. President Donald Trump’s adviser Elon Musk is the public face — had uncovered a $6 million grant awarded to television presenter Whoopi Goldberg to “promote diversity” on her show “The View.”
For example, one Facebook user posted a link to a website making the claim in a group called “President Donald J. Trump: Official Support Page” (archived).
The headline of the linked webpage read: “DOGE Uncovers $6 Million Grant Awarded to Whoopi Goldberg to ‘Promote Diversity on The View.'”
(Facebook / Gary Schultz)
Multiple Facebook posts shared the rumor with the same link, while a variation of the claim appeared on a page called America – Love It Or Leave It on March 7, saying that the amount was $26 million and that DOGE had recovered it.
Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as factual. However, a Google search produced no results suggesting that the U.S. government had funded diversity efforts on Goldberg’s show.
Rather, the claim originated from a Facebook page called America’s Last Line of Defense and its connected website, the Dunning-Kruger Times, which was linked to in the social media posts and describes its output as humorous or satirical in nature. Its “About Us” page states:
Dunning-Kruger-Times.com is a subsidiary of the “America’s Last Line of Defense” network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery, or as Snopes called it before they lost their war on satire: Junk News
[…]
Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site’s pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical. See above if you’re still having an issue with that satire thing.
The fictional story spread shortly after other rumors circulated about various initiatives supposedly receiving taxpayer money from U.S. agencies.
The Dunning-Kruger Times has a history of making up stories for shares and comments. In fact, several other details in its article gave clues as to its implausibility. For example, it claimed that the plan for which “The View” received the grant, put together by host Goldberg, included a parrot named Ronald Reagan Jr. squawking “random conservative catchphrases.” Another item of the satirical plan was “mandatory tie-dye Wednesdays.” Further, the story claimed that $1.2 million had gone to “designer robes for Whoopi so she could look ‘like a wise oracle of truth.'”
Further, the Facebook page description for America – Love It Or Leave It reads: “A subsidiary of the America’s Last Line of Defense network of trollery and propaganda for cash. Nothing on this page is real.”
Snopes has addressed similar satirical rumors about “The View” and its hosts in the past, including the claim that Goldberg and Joy Behar had surrendered their salaries to keep the show on the air and a rumor that Goldberg, Behar and Sunny Hostin would quit if conservative commentator Candace Owens joined the team as a co-host.
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