Fact Check

Did the New York Jets Sign Colin Kaepernick?

Parody news sometimes looks just like real news.

Published April 9, 2020

 (Brook Ward/Flickr)
Image Via Brook Ward/Flickr
Claim:
The New York Jets have signed quarterback Colin Kaepernick to a one-year, $9 million contract.

On April 9, 2020, the website of Cleveland television station WJW (known as FOX8) published an article reporting that the New York Jets football club had agreed to a one-year, $9 million contract with Colin Kaepernick, the controversial NFL quarterback best known for sparking the practice of kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice in the United States:

kaepernick

However, this information was not factual and was sourced from a tweet issued by an account (@SuperToughScene) that parodies the official ESPN SportsCenter Twitter account:

FOX8 quickly published a new article, headlined "Parody ‘SportsCenter’ account falsely tweets Colin Kaepernick signed" and redirected traffic from the original article to the newer one. The later version noted that, "There is no official reporting from the real SportsCenter account or other verified news sources about any team signing the athlete":

Sources

Melrose, Justyn.   "Parody ‘SportsCenter’ Account Falsely Tweets Colin Kaepernick Signed."     WJW-TV.   9 April 2020.

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.