A viral ad claims Dana Perino is walking away from Fox News after a dramatic falling-out with Sean Hannity. It sounds like breaking news. It is not. The story falls apart the moment you look past the headline — and what’s actually behind it says a lot about how misinformation spreads online.
Here’s what the rumor is, where it came from, why people keep searching for it, and how a fake news story turned into a vehicle for selling health products.
Dana Perino Is Not Leaving Fox News
The short answer: Dana Perino is still at Fox News. She currently co-anchors America’s Newsroom on weekdays from 9 to 11 a.m. ET and co-hosts The Five. Fox News’ own official bio confirms she is an active on-air personality at the network.
No official statement from Fox News or from Perino herself has announced any departure. Multiple fact-checkers have looked into the claim and reached the same conclusion — the story is false.
If you searched “Why is Dana Perino leaving Fox” after seeing an ad or social post, you are not alone. But you were likely looking at fabricated content designed to get your click, not inform you.
Where the Rumor Actually Came From
The claim traces back to a fraudulent article published on a website called freshdailydrive.com. That article was promoted through paid online ads and claimed Perino was leaving The Five because of tensions with Sean Hannity and an ongoing lawsuit with Fox News.
Not a single credible news outlet picked it up — because it was made up. There is no verified reporting that supports any professional conflict between Perino and Hannity, and no credible record of any lawsuit between her and Fox.
From there, social media posts and sensational YouTube videos amplified the narrative. Some used language like “cries and resigns on live TV” — the kind of framing designed to trigger curiosity and outrage before you even click. Fan discussion threads speculated about potential replacements, adding another layer of apparent legitimacy to a story that had none.
The Hannity “feud” angle has no basis in verified reporting. It exists only within the scam content world, recycled and reshared until it starts to look like something real.
The CBD Gummies Connection — How the Scam Actually Works
Here is where the business model behind this kind of misinformation becomes clear.
The fraudulent article did not stop at reporting a fake departure. It pivoted — quickly — to promoting a product called “Fortin CBD Gummies.” The piece claimed these gummies could reverse dementia, and implied that Perino herself endorsed them. The suggestion was that she had left Fox to pursue this new venture.
Perino has no involvement with any CBD product. Fact-checkers found no evidence of any endorsement, and the health claims about reversing dementia are not supported by science.
This is a well-documented fraud tactic. The formula is straightforward:
- Invent a dramatic story about a trusted public figure.
- Drive traffic to a page using paid ads and sensational headlines.
- Pivot to selling a health product once the reader has arrived.
It works because readers show up already interested in someone they recognize and trust. That familiarity lowers their guard. By the time the page starts talking about supplements, they are already engaged.
Perino’s background makes her a particularly useful name for this kind of operation. She served as White House Press Secretary under President George W. Bush, has built a long television career at Fox, and has worked as a published author and media executive. She carries credibility — which is exactly what scammers want to borrow.
Scheduled Leave vs. Actual Departure — Why the Confusion Keeps Coming Back
There is a factual thread underneath all of this that helps explain why the rumor keeps resurfacing.
In June 2024, Perino went on scheduled leave. She had announced it in advance on air, and her co-anchor Bill Hemmer reminded viewers as well. She returned on July 28, 2024. But during her absence, viewers noticed she was gone — and when a familiar face disappears from a daily program without context, people start searching for explanations. Clickbait fills that gap fast.
A similar pattern plays out any time she takes a vacation. According to reporting by AZCentral, Perino has announced planned breaks directly on America’s Newsroom, with Hemmer stepping in to set viewer expectations. Still, the searches spike, and scam content is waiting there to meet them.
It is also worth clarifying a legitimate role change that some readers may be conflating with a full departure. In early 2021, Perino left The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino to co-anchor America’s Newsroom. That was a real internal shift — but it was a move within the network, not an exit from it.
Think of it the way you would a senior executive moving from one division to another inside the same company. The role changed; the employer did not.
Temporary absences are standard in television. Anchors take vacations, go on assignment, or step away for personal leave. Networks swap in substitutes without issuing press releases. When viewers do not have that context, speculation fills the void.
Why Dana Perino Specifically Gets Targeted
Perino is not the only media personality whose name gets used in this kind of scheme, but she is a recurring target. A few reasons explain why.
She has genuine name recognition that crosses political lines. Her time as Press Secretary gave her a profile beyond cable news. She appears on two high-traffic Fox programs daily. And her reputation — measured, professional, relatively uncontroversial compared to some of her colleagues — makes fake drama around her feel more surprising and therefore more clickable.
Scam content tends to target figures who are trusted and recognizable but not tabloid fixtures. That sweet spot makes the fake story feel like genuine news rather than gossip.
How to Spot This Kind of Misinformation
The Dana Perino story is a useful case study because it follows a pattern that appears regularly with other TV personalities, athletes, and executives. Knowing what to look for helps you avoid wasting time — or getting sold something under false pretenses.
A few practical checks:
- Check the source URL. Legitimate breaking news about a Fox News anchor leaving would appear on major outlets — not on a domain you have never heard of.
- Search the claim independently. If the story is real, other credible outlets will have it. If only one obscure site is running it, that tells you something.
- Watch for the pivot. Scam articles often shift from “breaking news” to product sales within a few paragraphs. If a story about a TV host quickly becomes an advertisement for supplements, you are looking at a scam.
- Check the network’s official site. Fox News’ bio page for Perino describes her current roles at the network. That is a faster check than reading through a fake news article.
- Look for fact-checks. Sites like USA Today’s fact-check team have already reviewed this specific claim. A quick search for “Dana Perino leaving Fox fact check” pulls up their findings immediately.
For anyone interested in the broader mechanics of how online scams exploit media personalities and consumer trust, Nextbiztips covers these topics from a business and media literacy perspective.
The Bottom Line
Dana Perino is not leaving Fox News. She was not pushed out by Sean Hannity. She is not launching a CBD gummies business. She went on scheduled leave in mid-2024, came back in late July, and continues to co-host and co-anchor two of Fox’s daily programs.
The rumor originated from a fraudulent website, was pushed through paid ads, and existed to sell health products using her name without her knowledge or consent. It spread because her absence created a question, and scam content was positioned to answer it with fiction.
The next time you see a headline claiming a familiar anchor is “crying and resigning on live TV” — pause before clicking. The story is almost certainly not what it appears to be, and the page waiting on the other side probably has something to sell you.
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