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Major News Station Airs Fake Kyle Shanahan Hospital Photo In Embarrassing Mistake [VIDEO]

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This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.

Kyle Shanahan smiling
Kyle Shanahan (Photo via Imagn Images)

A Chicago television station found itself at the center of an embarrassing mix-up after airing a fake image supposedly showing San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan recovering from his recent car accident.

The moment, highlighted by Awful Announcing, showed WGN Morning News displaying an edited hospital photo during a segment about Shanahan. 

The image in question shows the 49ers coach in a hospital bed beside a woman. 

Only it wasn’t Shanahan…

It was an edited version of a recent photo of U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

The altered image replaced McConnell’s face with Shanahan’s, creating a fake hospital scene that has gone viral on social media.

Morning Show’s Intent Has Sparked Debate Online Following Viral Kyle Shanahan Moment

Kyle Shanahan speaking to reporters
Kyle Shanahan (Photo via Imagn Images)

Not everyone believes WGN made a mistake.

Several users pointed out that WGN Morning News regularly mixes news with comedy and lighthearted segments, leading some to believe the image may have been shown intentionally as part of a joke rather than presented as authentic.

“Imagine being the producer when this went live😅,” one wrote. 

“How incompetent must the new graduates be who put these video montages together in newsrooms??” another asked. 

“Based on the canned laughter, I think it was intended as a joke, not a mistake,” someone else pointed out. 

“Hopefully people understand that @pattomasulo did this intentionally and it wasn’t a news mistake,” one fan chimed in. 

“You guys know their sports guy is/was a comedian, right…? 🫤,” another comment read.

The fake image surfaced after Shanahan publicly addressed his June car crash. He accepted responsibility, explaining that his phone slipped between the seats and he briefly looked down while trying to retrieve it, causing him to drift into oncoming traffic. 

Shanahan also clarified that a statewide California crash database incorrectly assigned fault to the other driver because of what 49ers vice president of security Jeremy Jones said police described as a clerical error.

Whether the image was intended as satire or simply slipped through the cracks, the segment has generated fresh attention around the challenges news organizations face as AI-generated and digitally altered images become increasingly common.

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