Busted: Fox News caught passing off Turning Point USA official as average voter in diner

Social media users quickly caught that a man interviewed for a Fox News segment as though he were a random voter was actually a leader in a major conservative group.

A Fox and Friends segment was supposed to feature the on-the-spot opinions of random diners at a Columbus, Ohio restaurant. Juliet Jeske, who runs the X account Decoding Fox News, posted on Friday that reporter Lawrence Jones was actually interviewing members of Turning Point USA, the conservative group founded by Charlie Kirk.

"This is your classic Fox and Friends diner segment," Jeske said. "Lawrence Jones is supposed to be talking to everyday people."

Jones was asking diners about their impression of the recent campaign event by Vivek Ramaswamy, who's running for governor of Ohio. Fox and Friends interviewed three people, including two who were wearing Turning Point USA hats.

The other person, who identified as "Jake," answered Jones' questions about whether Republicans can win over young voters in support of Ramaswamy.

"Absolutely, they can," Jake said. "The turnout was absolutely amazing last night, and we had so many great young people that really wanted to see a better Ohio."

Although Jones walked up to him as though he were picking a random guy, Jeske said she identified him "in thirty minutes" as Jake Poling, a regional manager of Turning Point USA, through his social media, where he had pictures with Kirk.

"Vivek answered all the questions with passion and with grace," Poling continued, telling Jones. "Everybody took away a lot of great things."

Poling confirmed on Facebook that he was interviewed for the segment, writing, "a bright and early Wednesday morning representing Turning Point USA with Fox and Friends."

Still, other social media users weren't happy. The X account Bad Fox Graphics wrote, "Jake Poling’s views are his own, even if he is appearing in a suit jacket at 6:19a on @foxandfriends as a typical Columbus, OH diner while concealing his 'Christian - Committed' @TPUSA Regional Manager role."