Michael Jordan

Did basketball great Michael Jordan call for a ban on the pride flag from U.S. schools and sports? No, that's not true: The website that published the article has a satire disclaimer and is known for publishing fabricated content. The article also identifies its content as "SATIRE." No credible reports support the assertion that Jordan called to ban pride flags.…

Did basketball star Michael Jordan endorse Donald Trump for president? No, that's not true: Jordan's management told Lead Stories that there was "absolutely no truth" to this claim. At the time of writing, Jordan had endorsed neither Trump or Kamala Harris for president. The claim appeared in a post on X (archived here) on November 3, 2024. The caption read:…

Does a viral video montage show actual tornados and damage from Hurricane Milton in Florida in October 2024? No, that's not true: The montage is a compilation of older, unrelated clips. Some of them show signs of digital manipulation. The claim that the video depicted authentic scenes from Hurricane Milton appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on October…

Did former NBA star Michael Jordan turn down a $200 million offer to do a commercial with current NBA star LeBron James, saying he would "never [work] with this woke creep?" No, that's not true: This story came from a website that calls itself satirical and "fake news." A representative for Jordan told Lead Stories there was "no truth" to…

Did Michael Jordan say that kids who "can afford $8 cups of coffee" can also afford "to pay their own student loans" as a viral post on Facebook said? No, that's not true: the quote first appeared on a Facebook page that is part of a network of self-described satire websites and pages known for publishing made-up stories. If a…

Did Michael Jordan reject a $400 million offer from Disney, saying he does not "collaborate with companies aligned with woke ideologies"? No, that's not true: An AI detector found that the article that said so was 99.9 percent likely to be AI-generated. The media didn't report that Jordan or his representatives rejected an offer from Disney. The claim appeared in…

Did Indian billionaire and businessman N.R. Narayana Murthy endorse a quantum computing software that uses quantum AI to trade stocks? No, that's not true: A fake voice has been used in a video on social media to make it appear Murthy made this endorsement. Lead Stories could not find any evidence to substantiate that Murthy made these statements. We also…

Did former basketball star and current media personality Shaquille O'Neal promote a stimulus check card? No, that's not true: The video making this claim uses a fake voice. O'Neal did not actually contribute his likeness or his voice to an advertisement for the so-called stimulus check card. The claim is the latest effort in a continuing scam to deceive online…

Does a video on Facebook show actor Michael B. Jordan endorsing a "health spending card" promotion? No, that's not true: Jordan's public relations team confirmed to Lead Stories that this claim is false. Lead Stories previously has debunked fake promotions, such as the one linked to this post, as scams to get social media users' personal information. The claim appeared…

Did professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe have a campaign with the breakfast cereal Wheaties that was canceled after she missed a penalty kick during the 2023 World Cup? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for General Mills, the parent company of Wheaties, confirmed that the claim is false. The claim also started on a satirical website. The claim originated in…