Earlier this week, a false story about former NBA superstar Magic Johnson circulated on Twitter.
Using an old photo of Johnson getting a routine blood draw at a doctor’s appointment, a parody sports media account said the NBA Hall of Famer recently donated blood to “help underprivileged communities fight COVID-19.”
“The image of a doctor taking blood from Johnson’s arm is from the 2012 PBS Frontline documentary ‘Endgame: AIDS in Black America.'” fact-checkers at The Associated Press report.
Despite the parody account showing some obvious signs of being illegitimate, quite a few people around the sports world believed this false message.
Johnson himself took to Twitter to deny this fabricated story.
“I’m aware of the false story circling the internet, and to be clear, I have never donated blood,” he wrote.
Johnson famously announced his HIV diagnosis ahead of the 1991-92 NBA season.
The Red Cross does not accept blood donations from people who have ever had a positive HIV test.