Summary: A screenshot claiming to show a CNN story titled "Cuckolding can be positive for some couples, study says" is misleading. CNN did publish that article in 2018, but the viral image was replaced — the network's original photo shows three white people walking together, while the circulated screenshot depicts a white couple and a Black man. Archived copies confirm CNN's original image.
Fact Check: Viral CNN Screenshot Swaps Photo — The Headline Is Real, The Image Is Fake
Lead Stories says: Photo Swapped
A screenshot circulating on social media that appears to show a CNN article headlined “Cuckolding can be positive for some couples, study says” is misleading. While CNN did publish an article with that headline in 2018, the image used in the viral post is not the photo CNN originally published.
Image source: post by @IanMalcolm84 on X.
What Was Shared
On Sept. 24, 2026, the X account @IanMalcolm84 posted a screenshot of a CNN page with the headline above. The photo embedded in that screenshot shows a white couple and a Black man sitting together on a sofa — a different image than CNN used in its article.
Image source: CNN.
What CNN Actually Published
We checked CNN’s live article and archived copies from 2018. Both the current CNN page and archived versions show a different image than the one used in the viral screenshot: a photograph of three white people walking together, photographed from behind. That confirms the viral screenshot replaced CNN’s original image.
Image source: Internet Archive.
Evidence and Sources
Archived snapshots of the 2018 CNN story (Internet Archive and CNN’s own page) display the original photo of three white people, not the image used in the X post. There is no indication that CNN ever published the sofa photo that appears in the viral screenshot.
Bottom line: The headline is real — CNN published a story with that title in 2018 — but the screenshot circulating on social media uses a different photo than the one CNN originally ran. The altered image makes the screenshot misleading and therefore it should be treated as fake.
How readers should respond: Treat the screenshot as manipulated and refer to the original CNN article or archived versions if you need to verify the report. Image swaps are a common way to change the apparent meaning or tone of an article without altering the text.
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