Many celebrities and notable figures spoke out after news broke that 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant had been fatally shot by police in Columbus, Ohio.
But one statement supposedly issued by Los Angeles basketball star LeBron James is completely fabricated.
“We’re at the point where a girl can’t even stab her friends anymore,” reads the quote attributed to James in a viral Facebook post. The statement appears to reference a knife that video showed Bryant was holding during part of the altercation.
The person who shared the post wrote in the caption: “He’s such a POS.” Others also believed that the quote was authentic.
“Does he even realize how asinine that sounds??!!” one person commented.
James never said it.
The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
The Facebook post shares the quote as if it were real but it actually derives from a satirical website called The Glorious American, which describes itself as, “Satire for the right. And the wrong.”
James did say something about the incident. In a now-deleted tweet, James shared the image of the officer involved in the fatal shooting, and wrote “YOU’RE NEXT #ACCOUNTABILITY,” along with an hourglass emoji.
Hours later, James said he was angry when he published the original tweet.
“Gathering all the facts and educating does though! My anger still is here for what happened that lil girl. My sympathy for her family and may justice prevail!”
Our ruling
A Facebook post claims LeBron James said “we’re at the point where a girl can’t even stab her friends anymore.” The quote was fabricated by a satirical website and then reshared without any indication it was intended as satire.
We rate this post Pants on Fire!
Truth-o-meter Ruling
IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT
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The quote was made up by a satirical website.
Statement
Context
a Facebook postSpeaker/Target
Statement Date
Our Sources
Facebook post, April 22, 2021
Columbus Dispatch, Protests, vigil take place across Columbus one day after Ma'Khia Bryant shooting, April 21, 2021
The Glorious American, LeBron: ‘We're At The Point Where A Girl Can't Even Stab Her Friends Anymore’, Accessed April 22, 2021
ESPN, LeBron James explains why he deleted tweet on police shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant, April 21, 2021
Twitter, LeBron James tweets, April 21, 2021
Translations
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