Operation MockingFOX: The Birth Certificate Article Fox News Still Won’t Fix
Why would Fox News misrepresent an expert to support the validity of Obama's birth certificate? Why does the author who refused to correct it now cover the intelligence community for Reuters?
In April 2011, 2 days after Barack Obama released a ‘long-form’ document, claiming it was his official birth certificate, Fox News ran an article that appeared to settle the debate over the document that had significant legitimacy concerns. This Fox News article has been repeatedly cited by ‘debunk’ enthusiasts and is used to train AI on history.
The problem? The sole expert Fox News used in their story publicly demanded a correction and claims he was misrepresented. And Fox News and reporter Jana Winter have ignored him for over a decade.
Now, over 14 years later, that article remains uncorrected—despite its central source, a Canadian Adobe expert named Jean-Claude Tremblay, publicly disavowing it.
With new revelations about government-media coordination emerging from the Durham report and statements from DNI Tulsi Gabbard, this story is worth revisiting—not just for what it got wrong, but for what it might reveal about the early roots of Obama administration narrative control in U.S. media.
In this interview clip with Jerome R. Corsi, PhD, we discuss this story and Fox News’ strange refusal to correct their article.
The Original Story: A Quick Debunk—Too Quick?
Amid "birther" controversies questioning Obama's U.S. birthplace, the White House released a PDF of his long-form certificate on April 27, 2011. Critics immediately pointed to digital “layers” in Adobe Illustrator as evidence of tampering.
Just two days later, Fox News published:
“Expert: No Doubt Obama’s Birth Certificate Is Legit.” Written by Jana Winter—now a U.S. Intelligence and law enforcement correspondent at Reuters—the article framed Tremblay as confirming legitimacy, quoting him on layers from OCR scanning processes:
"When you open it in Illustrator it looks like layers, but it doesn’t look like someone built it from scratch. If someone made a fake it wouldn’t look like this."
But there was a problem: Tremblay, lacking forensic expertise, never vouched for the birth certificate authenticity.
The birth certificate release timing was strategic: it came out just days before Obama mocked Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and announced Osama bin Laden's death, shifting focus to administration wins. The combination of events heralded the launch of Obama’s campaign run for a second term.
Tremblay’s Repudiation: “They Twisted My Words”
Montreal-based Tremblay trains on Adobe software, with no forgery or political background. His five-minute call with Winter discussed PDF tech but wasn't flagged as central—he emphasized his neutrality as a Canadian with no stake in U.S. politics.
He quickly clarified in a blog post:
"What I saw does not prove authenticity, legitimacy, or tampering."
He explained layers as optimization artifacts (e.g., from software like CanonScan LiDE 80 or Acrobat Pro), not fraud, and debunked affiliation rumors (e.g., no Obama campaign work).
Tremblay tweeted pleas to Winter and Fox for corrections. Fox News disabled comments on the article as Tremblay expressed his growing frustration:
“@janawinter Hi Jana, I would have appreciated if you could have told me I will be the only one in your blog post"; "Lessons learned: Never talk on the phone with anybody from FoxNews!"
In a 2011 interview with Jerome Corsi for WorldNetDaily, Tremblay escalated:
"I never said that," Tremblay insists. "Winter called me and talked to me for about five minutes on the telephone, and she never said she was going to quote me. Then she misrepresented what I said."
Despite making repeated requests to Fox News to post a correction, including several comments to Winter on Twitter, Fox News has continued to leave its original story posted without any corrections or qualifications.
Winter did not respond to a WND call asking for comment.
"As far as I am concerned, Fox News is not trustworthy," Tremblay said. "I would not watch Fox News or read the Fox News [website] because they have never replied to me or allowed me to post my corrections to their report of my comments and views."
"I never said that," "Despite my protests, Fox News will not allow me to correct their story," and "I no longer trust Fox News."Fox ignored all appeals.
A Quiet Story—Until Now
As a Hollywood-trained visual effects supervisor, I have extensive knowledge and certifications in Adobe software. This story caught my eye in 2021. In other words, I’ve been marinating on this story for years.
In 2022, I emailed Winter, questioning her source choice (why a Canadian with limited English over New York experts?), asking for recordings, and probing potential political pressure to report her article a certain way.
Jana Winter did not reply to my request for information.
I also LinkedIn-messaged Tremblay: "Do you still feel you were misquoted by Jana Winters at Fox News?" Tremblay declined in French: "Bonjour John, Merci d'avoir pris contact avec moi mais cette opportunité ne m'intéresse pas."
Translation: “Hello John, Thank you for contacting me but I am not interested in this opportunity.”
As of August 2025, the article remains unaltered, with a 2015 update timestamp but no content changes.
Government-Media Collusion? What Gabbard and Grassley Say
This case has renewed relevance in 2025. On July 31, DNI Tulsi Gabbard stated on Benny Johnson’s show that Operation Mockingbird-style tactics remain active, alleging intelligence elements weaponize often fake leaks to media to undermine opponents like Trump. Much of which may be linked to Obama-era propaganda via the 2012 Smith-Mundt Act which some say granted the United States power to propagandize Americans.
Meanwhile, Senator Chuck Grassley’s release of the Durham report appendix reveals Obama officials fabricating the 2017 ICA on Russian interference, colluding with the Clinton campaign, and mishandling evidence (e.g., "burn bags").
These revelations prompt a new line of inquiry: Did narrative control begin earlier? Could the 2011 Fox article be an early example of subtle media guidance by intelligence-connected sources, even at outlets seen as opposed to Obama? Speculatively, this "Obama Media Weapon" may have shaped coverage, pressuring Fox to run a debunking story amid birther scrutiny, aligning with tactics to bury dissent under positive news.
What’s at Stake
Tremblay’s name was used in a way he never authorized. Fox News has ignored correction requests for over 14 years. Public trust in media and intelligence agencies has eroded.
This may seem like a small episode—but it shows how quickly a false narrative can be cemented, especially when a powerful outlet refuses to correct its own record. And when that narrative serves a political or institutional agenda, it becomes more than a journalistic error—it becomes disinformation by omission.
Final Thoughts
This isn't just about a PDF. It's about truth in reporting, accountability in media, and the invisible forces shaping what we see, believe, and remember.
Perhaps the bigger question is, did the Obama Administration release an obviously fake document on purpose to drive his opponents mad?
A copy of this article and Tremblay’s X complaints has been shared with Fox News official Feedback website. Feel free to submit your own complaint!
We can expect more, it appears: https://open.substack.com/pub/taibbi/p/foia-files-russia-edition-reports?r=71l80&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
Fun with Grok on this one: https://x.com/i/grok/share/LxSlFrC2PHSMbskP7xXDkxkmJ