(Law Officer) CNN was duped into helping raise $230,000 for a woman claiming to be the mother of three young children and feared being evicted amid the federal eviction moratorium.
The cable news network had to issue a correction saying the woman is not the mother of the kids featured in the story.
Nick Watt of CNN interviewed Dasha Kelly last week for a story regarding the recent eviction moratorium lapse. During his report, Watt referred to the three children as “her little girls.”
The reporter noted they could all end up on the street as CNN’s electronically generated caption read, “Mom braces for eviction.”
During the report, Watt explained that Kelly lost her job because of the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, she can reportedly no longer afford child care, and her “little girls” were shown during CNN’s segment, Fox News reported.
“Dasha Kelly has started a GoFundMe page to try and cover that rent, $2,000. It’s a Hail Mary, she says she’s praying for a miracle, hoping for a miracle,” Watt told CNN viewers.
“You know it’s happening when we start talking about it… it’s bringing all of my emotions.”
— OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) August 2, 2021
Dasha Kelly is a single mom facing eviction over unpaid rent.
If you’d like to help, the family has set up a GoFundMe here: https://t.co/g7j4QuRk4b pic.twitter.com/FFYIjDvVe2
And then the truth came out. Kelly, who was portrayed as a “single mom” at the outset of the story, isn’t the mother of any of the children used throughout CNN’s reporting, according to Fox.
“Update: After CNN aired a story about her potential eviction, Dasha Kelly clarified to CNN that she is not the mother of the three children featured in the story. CNN has verified she takes care of the children in her home for periods of time. She says she originally described herself to CNN as a mother because she considers herself to be like one to them,” a correction added to CNN’s online report said.
…
According to their update, CNN is now reporting that Kelly is actually the girlfriend of the children’s father. The kids will return to live with their actual mother before school starts. It wasn’t clear if the children’s father is employed and able to pay rent.
GoFundMe told CNN it has put the funds on hold and nothing has been distributed.
