CBS Evening News Says Viral Set Photo for ‘Whiskey Fridays with Tony Dokoupil’ Was an ‘Experimental Mockup’ and Is ‘Not a Real Title’

CBS News is pushing back against viral rumors that its revamped evening news program is considering a “Whiskey Fridays with Tony Dokoupil” segment.

On Jan. 13, Zeteo News journalist Prem Thakker reported that the historic news network — under new leadership with the installation of The Free Press’ Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief — was toying with the set design for a possible new bar-themed segment on CBS Evening News.

“Some staff were only first made aware of it as they encountered CBS testing set designs of a faux-stocked bar in the newsroom, featuring a large sponsor banner for Jack Daniels,” Thakker wrote on X.

Soon after, Thakker posted a mockup of how the “Whiskey Fridays with Tony Dokoupil” set might look, showing pseudo-bar wallpaper on the three walls surrounding the anchor desk. On Jan. 14, he shared another photo of the set design from a different angle.

After the set photos sparked buzz on social media, distillery company Brown-Forman, which owns Jack Daniel’s, shared a statement with independent journalist Dave Infante that distanced itself from CBS’ “Whiskey Fridays” concept, saying, “Jack Daniel’s is not involved in any such segment, nor do we have any awareness of the segment and any potential partnerships or sponsorships.”

CBS News is now offering context for the set photos that were leaked, with a network spokesperson telling PEOPLE, “This is not a segment for broadcast. This is not a real title. This is not a real sponsor. And this is not a real story.”

“This is simply an experimental mockup the graphics team created with placeholder text for a potential non-televised, in-person private event,” the spokesperson adds.

The “Whiskey Fridays” confusion arose during Dokoupil’s second week as anchor of the legacy Evening News broadcast.

Dokoupil’s first days on the job — which included interviews with President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, border czar Tom Homan and an ICE official — garnered significant attention, though not always for the right reason.

Before the CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil even premiered, some pointed to Weiss and Paramount Skydance’s apparent influence on the broadcast, like when the show posted its five core values against the backdrop of political division, one of which was, “We love America. And we make no apologies for saying so.”

During his first day behind the desk, Dokoupil mixed up segment transitions, with him introducing a story on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz while a photo of Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly appeared on the screen. He brushed it off, saying, “First day, first day, big problems here.”

While visiting Miami soon after, the anchor received flak for airing a segment in which he shouted out Florida-born Secretary of State Marco Rubio — who is at the center of the Trump administration’s aggressive foreign policy — ending the broadcast, “Marco Rubio, we salute you. You’re the ultimate Florida man.”

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Nielsen ratings for Dokoupil’s first five days on air showed a 23% drop in viewership from the year prior, when then-anchor Norah O’Donnell was concluding her tenure at the helm of the broadcast.

CBS Evening News continues to rank behind Tom Llamas’ NBC Nightly News and David Muir’s ABC World News Tonight.