See above a screenshot from CNN's March 24 transcript in which CNN aired a tweet from what later turned out to be a fake Will Ferrell account. (Credit: CNN, screenshot, highlight added)

CNN and the Houston Chronicle reported information from a Will Ferrell Twitter account that turned out to be fake, the Hollywood Reporter wrote.  The tweets attributed to the actorl under the account @RealFerrellWill included:

“For every R-T this tweet gets, $1 will be donated to the #TrayvonMartin Foundation, which helps counteract racism.”

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the tweet “was retweeted by hundreds of followers” but “There is no such thing as the Trayvon Martin Foundation, and Will Ferrell was not sending the tweets.”

The Hollywood Reporter quoted “Ferrell’s publicist” as denying the tweets and noting Ferrell “does NOT have a Twitter account.”  The Twitter account @RealFerrellWill is currently suspended.

See here a transcript for CNN newsroom’s March 24 Newsroom program, which reads :

“Actor Will Ferrell actually just tweeted this, saying, ‘Rest in peace, Trayvon Martin. For every retweet this tweet gets, $1 will be donated to the Trayvon Martin Foundation which helps counteract racism.’ So it has elicited a lot of conversations and comments.’

The Houston Chronicle reported in its story on celebrities’ reactions to the Martin shooting that “Ferrell also offered to donate money to the newly-launched Trayvon Martin Foundation, which fights racism, for every person who re-tweets the message, ‘R.I.P Trayvon Martin.'”

US Weekly also published tweets from the fake Will Ferrell account and wrote:

“Will Ferrell wrote angrily, “I live n a country where a chick that threw flour on Kim Kardashian was arrested on site But the man who KILLED Trayvon Martin is still free.”

That article was also re-published on Yahoo News’ website.  It also was cited by My Fox Memphis in its report on reaction to the Martin shooting.

We have written to the Houston Chronicle, US Weekly, My Fox Memphis, and CNN asking if they have any comments or plans to correct. We will update with any response.

Hat Tip: Gossip Cop