There’s another fake article circulating about the National Basketball Association and North Carolina’s controversial bathroom bill HB2, which bans transgender people using public restrooms for the gender they identify with.
The latest fake article, published May 7 on a site imitating ABC News with the URL abcnews.com.co, was headlined “Michael Jordan to North Carolina: ‘HB2 Goes or The Charlotte Hornets Go.'”
Last month, Cleveland.com was hoaxed by a similar article from the same fake site also making claims about the NBA and HB2, iMediaEthics previously reported. In that case, Cleveland.com was duped by an article claiming the NBA was moving its 2017 All-Star Game from Cleveland because of the bill.
Metro, a U.S. news site and free daily newspaper, was duped by the recent article claiming Michael Jordan, owner of the Charlotte Hornets, was threatening to move his franchise out of the state.
The phony abcnews.com.co article claimed Jordan gave a press conference where he said
“With this new law in place, North Carolina currently does not have any anti-discrimination protection in place, something that is vital, not just for our fans but for everyone.
“NOTE: This story was based on a report that, while presented as factual news story, was published on a prank “ABC News” website with an Associated Press dateline that appeared on Google News. We regret the error. “