News outlets, media commentators, and politicians fell for a fake report on Thursday that claimed Colin Kaepernick had been signed to the New York Jets.
Mediaite reports the fake news, which was posted on Twitter by a parody account posing as SportsCenter, claimed the “New York Jets have signed free agent QB Colin Kaepernick to a 1 year / $9 million contract,” and received over 16,000 likes and 5,000 retweets in just a few hours.
Fox News contributor and former DNC chairwoman Donna Brazile responded, “Thank you @nyjets for signing this amazing athlete,” unaware that the news was fake.
Local news station WGHP FOX8 in Greensboro, NC even published an article based on the tweet, falsely reporting that Kaepernick “is returning to the NFL after the New York Jets signed the quarterback to the team.” The station later corrected its article to clarify that the news was fake.
Other social media users who fell for the fake news included former Mayor of Atlanta Kasim Reed, a number of journalists, and a Democratic Party congressional candidate.
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