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Fact check: Which co-hosts of The View have been accused of spreading the most misinformation?
Executive Summary
The reporting and fact-checking materials supplied identify Sunny Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg among The View co-hosts most frequently cited in accusations of spreading misinformation, though many critiques are episodic and focus on heated exchanges rather than a sustained pattern by a single individual. Coverage from late 2022 through 2025 highlights separate incidents where Hostin and Goldberg drew criticism — Hostin for contested COVID-era claims and confrontations about guests’ statements, and Goldberg for a mistaken First Amendment claim — while other hosts are implicated in controversies but not consistently singled out as primary misinformation actors [1] [2] [3].
1. What people are actually claiming — “Who’s accused of what and why?”
Media reports and show transcripts frame allegations as episodic accusations tied to specific segments rather than comprehensive adjudications. Critics repeatedly cite Sunny Hostin for statements during COVID coverage and for challenging guests in ways some viewers labeled misleading or alarmist; Fox News compiled a list of Hostin’s divisive moments amid the pandemic [1]. Whoopi Goldberg drew a separate fact-check for a legal misstatement about the First Amendment, with PolitiFact explaining the constitutional complexity she misstated [2]. Other co-hosts—including Joy Behar, Ana Navarro, Elisabeth Hasselbeck historically, and others—appear in controversy roundups, but these sources show accusations are distributed across several hosts and years, not concentrated in a clear single leader of misinformation [4] [5].
2. Recent high-profile episodes that fueled the accusations
Two media narratives from 2024–2025 illustrate how specific interviews drive claims of misinformation: Cheryl Hines’ October 2025 appearance prompted criticism of co-hosts for aggressively focusing on her husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with Sunny Hostin quoted calling RFK Jr. a source of “a lot of misinformation,” and Hines later saying the show “grilled” her about him rather than her memoir [3] [6] [7]. These pieces, published late October and early November 2025, show public backlash centered on perceived hostility and fact disputes during guest interviews, and critics used those moments to label the hosts as misinformation spreaders, especially Hostin and Behar [3] [7].
3. Fact-checkers and compilations: what they did and did not conclude
Independent fact-check projects and compilations take a narrower view, checking discrete claims rather than assigning overall misinformation leadership. Snopes’ collection of rumors lists recurring falsehoods about The View and names hosts involved in misleading headlines, but it does not single out one host as the worst offender [8]. Reuters and PolitiFact focus on specific claims — debunking false guest-switch narratives and assessing Whoopi Goldberg’s constitutional assertion — and thus show fact-checkers treat each episode on its merits rather than ranking hosts [9] [2]. These fact-checks reinforce that errors are documented and corrected episodically, rather than establishing a sustained pattern by one co-host.
4. Political framing and editorial agendas shaping the accusations
Cable and partisan outlets frame these events differently, and that framing influences who is portrayed as the primary offender. Fox News’ compilation of alleged COVID misinformation emphasizes Hostin and frames moments as “panic” and misinformation, reflecting a conservative editorial lens that often targets The View [1]. Entertainment and celebrity outlets and left-leaning outlets focus on guest experiences and media behavior, emphasizing confrontational interviewing more than factual falsehoods [3] [6]. This divergence suggests accusations of “spreading the most misinformation” are often entangled with editorial agendas, with right-leaning outlets cataloguing alleged false claims and other outlets highlighting tone and guest complaints.
5. Bottom line: what the evidence supports and where uncertainties remain
The assembled sources support a conclusion that Sunny Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg are two of the most frequently cited co-hosts in documented misinformation episodes, but evidence does not establish a clear quantitative ranking of “most” across all hosts. Compilations and fact-checks show multiple hosts have made disputed statements over time, and recent high-profile interviews (October–November 2025) intensified public attention and accusations [3] [7] [1] [2]. Given the episodic nature of reporting, the absence of comprehensive longitudinal analysis in these sources, and evident partisan framing, claims that a single co-host is definitively the top spreader of misinformation remain unsupported by the supplied materials.