Moderators Norah O’Donnell, Margaret Brennan still at CBS | Fact check

An Oct. 6 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes side-by-side images of CBS journalists Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan. 
“CBS Officially Fires Debate Moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan: Disgrace Cannot Be Allowed to Remain on Our Network,” reads the caption on the post.  
Other versions of the claim spread widely on Facebook and Threads.  
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The claim is baseless. Both women remained listed as CBS employees and have appeared on the network since the post was made. The claim originated on a satirical website.
O’Donnell and Brennan moderated the Oct. 1 vice presidential debate between Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the Republican nominee, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee. At one point during the event, Vance clashed with Brennan after she fact-checked the senator’s misleading claims about Haitian immigrants in Ohio. Vance protested what he deemed a violation of the debate’s fact-check rules and continued speaking as Walz jumped in, at which point both nominees’ mics were muted.
But the claim that Brennan and O’Donnell have been fired since the debate is baseless.  
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The link in the first comment of the post takes users to an article that first appeared Oct. 3 on SpaceXMania.com, a satirical outlet that notes “Nothing on this website is real.” The article includes a satire label at the top.
The article includes several details that further demonstrate its lack of legitimacy, including a claim that the debate included a live audience and an assertion that Brennan and O’Donnell issued a joint statement after their supposed firings – neither of which actually happened.  
The claim is an example of what could be called “stolen satire,” where stories written as satire and presented that way originally are reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here. 
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CBS News’ website still referenced Brennan and O’Donnell as employees as of Oct. 10. Both women have also continued hosting their respective shows – “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” and “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell” – in the days since the claim was posted.  
CBS News has not issued any public statements that indicate either woman has been fired or demoted from any of their duties.
USA TODAY previously debunked a claim that ABC fired presidential debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis after the Sept. 10 event between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.  
USA TODAY reached out to several users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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