The internet can be a great place for the community, humor, and insight it provides.
But it can also be a breeding ground of blatant misinformation and woeful inaccuracies. This was proven to be the case once again recently, with an absurd rumor regarding Chicago Sky superstar Angel Reese having surfaced.
Thankfully there are websites like Snopes.com, which pride themselves on, “fact-checking and original investigative reporting lights the way to evidence-based and contextualized analysis.”
And Snopes’ Jack Izzo wasted little time debunking this most recent Reese rumor in an October 18 article.
“In October 2024, videos surfaced on social media alleging that the Chicago Sky fired young WNBA star Angel Reese for using performance-enhancing drugs — without any evidence to corroborate the claim. The assertion was unfounded,” Izzo wrote.
“The videos began appearing on Facebook and YouTube on Oct. 14, 2024, with headlines and thumbnails implying that Reese had been taking steroids. Artificial intelligence video-creation tools seemingly helped create the video’s narration, scripting and sequencing.
“There was no evidence to support the assertion that Reese was caught using performance-enhancing drugs,” Izzo continued. “If there were even a sliver of truth to the claim, reputable sports media outlets… would have interviewed parties involved and documented the ordeal. That had not happened.”
It sounds like this was obvious for most who saw these disreputable videos, as they were flagged endlessly for being clickbait.
Izzo later added, “In short, the claim appeared to be made up from whole cloth for the purpose of gaining views online.”
Unfortunately, ridiculous rumors that are trying to disparage women’s basketball’s brightest superstars will likely keep popping up from time to time. Good thing most fans are smart enough to recognize clear clickbait when they see it.
