--- title: "Chaos Reigns as Fox News Guest Appears to Be Wearing Human-Like Mask" description: "Fox News is under fire by conspiracy theorists after an expert guest appeared to be wearing some kind of skin mask." date: "2026-05-24" modified: "2026-05-24" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/fox-news-guest-human-skin-mask" categories: - "Future Society" --- # Chaos Reigns as Fox News Guest Appears to Be Wearing Human-Like Mask ![A man with a bald head is wearing a beige blazer over a dark shirt on Fox News. There is a strange gap under his neck, making it look as though he might be wearing a realistic mask.]() *Fox News* If you needed any more evidence that Americans have lost any semblance of a shared reality, just take a peek at the average *Fox News* broadcast. During an [appearance on *Fox*]() to discuss the US-Iran war, retired US Central Command (Centcom) deputy commander Robert Harward insisted that Donald Trump holds all the cards as the two sides negotiate for an end to hostilities. Outlandish as that idea might be — the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps currently has the world oil economy [in a stranglehold]() — it was Harward's peculiar appearance that caught everybody's attention. Down near where the top of Harward's undershirt meets his collarbone was a bizarre flap of skin that appeared to move along with his head, but separately from the bottom of his neck. It isn't abundantly clear whether it was excess skin or a weird trick of the studio lights, but conservative social media was soon abuzz with conspiracies that he was wearing a "Mission Impossible"-style skin mask during the taping. https://youtu.be/weCdULCWKOM?si=a13FBYbVRRYpnxkT&t=343 "Holy sh\*t why is this man on Fox News wearing a literal CIA mask," conservative influencer [Blaire White shared]() to over 700,000 followers on X-formerly-Twitter. "Mr Harward has been kidnapped and they are using this mask to show someone how powerful they are," [one woman suggested]() in the comments, adding that "something is fishy." "Remember. Whoever designed the system doesn't make mistakes," [another poster]() hypothesized, whatever that's supposed to mean. "If you've seen it, it's cuz you were supposed to see it." Even nominally reputable commentators were put off by Haward's unsettling visage. Journalist Seth Abramson said he was "hereby boycotting any further activities of any kind in my life" until someone "explains to me like I am a 5 year-old exactly what in the B-horror-movie hell I just saw." "Seriously, just shutting my life down until this is resolved," [Abramson wrote](). Whatever's behind the strange appearance on the live news program remains to be seen. It certainly isn't the first time *Fox* has been accused of faking an expert to juice up a live broadcast. Back in 2025, [rumors swirled]() that the network's masked "Antifa whistleblower" and "Mexican Mafia hitman" interviewees were really played by Hollywood crank Michael Rapaport. In both cases, it's impossible to say for sure, but it's clear that any semblance of trust in the media — even a network as notorious as *Fox News* — has been fractured beyond repair. **More on news media:** *[An Entire "Local Newspaper" Just Shut Down When All Its Reporters Were Busted as AI Fakes]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()