Joe Rogan became the butt of the joke Monday morning after sharing a spoof CNN report about actor Steven Seagal.
A fake report began circling the Internet that claimed Steven was assisting the Russians in its attempted invasion of Ukraine. The faux report — which was Photoshopped rather well — included a picture of the "Under Siege" star in military fatigues. The description of the meme said, "Intelligence agencies around the world have spotted American actor Steven Seagal among Russian special forces positioned around the outskirts of Gostomel airfield near Kyiv captured by Russian airborne troops."
Andrew Toth/Starpix/Shutterstock
Social media was quick to recognize that the image in the fake news story was not from the front lines of the real world conflict, but rather from Steven's 2016 thriller "Sniper." However, the former "Fear Factor" host saw the report and shared it on his Instagram and Facebook.
"If I had to guess the plot of this f***** up movie we're living through I would say we are about 14 hours from the arrival of the aliens," the podcaster, 54, wrote alongside the meme.
The ridicule came almost immediately.
"This is obviously photoshopped though," one person wrote, according to a New York Post screengrab. "I may be a beluga whale but I do make memes for a living so I like to think I can detect a meme with my sonar."
Another pointed to the weather while ridiculing Joe.
"For anyone who thinks this is real: it's quite cold — about -2°C — in most of Ukraine. This photo was clearly shot on a warm day," the critic wrote.
Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP/Shutterstock
Some people were serious in their responses to the controversial UFC analyst.
"@joerogan I'd laugh, but my friends are dying," one person wrote.
"I am so ashamed of you Joe Rogan. You go on and post about alien invasions and living in movies, but when actual tragedy starts with real people dying you are silent," another person argued. "When a real monster needs to be stopped, you do nothing. Is it because you actually are not so 'objective' and 'curious', but you are definitely brainwashed for good. Speak up! Condemn atrocities! You have a huge platform. Act like a leader and stop posting irrelevant stuff making it all look like a joke. It's not."
Although the meme is phony, Steven's history with Russia makes it seem not too farfetched. The "Black Dawn" star reportedly lives in Moscow and is pals with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was also granted Russian citizenship in 2016 and has criticized the U.S. government over the years. Fox News noted that the action star was banned from entering Ukraine for five years, citing national security reasons, back in 2015.
Alexei Druzhinin/AP/Shutterstock
In a message about the ongoing war, Steven refused to blame Putin for the invasion.
"Most of us have friends and family in Russia & Ukraine. I look at both as one family and really believe it is an outside entity spending huge sums of money on propaganda to provoke the two countries to be at odds with each other," he told Fox News Digital. "My prayers are that both countries will come to a positive, peaceful resolution where we can live & thrive together in peace."
