Since Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion, the social media app has undergone swift changes. Perhaps most notably has been Musk’s vision for a new Twitter Blue verification system that wound up catching LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in its crosshairs.
On the first day of Twitter’s new verification process that allows any user to obtain a verified checkmark by paying a monthly $7.99 fee, one account portraying itself as James tweeted a trade request from the Lakers. It garnered hundreds of retweets before the account was suspended.
Around that same time, a fake Adam Schefter account reported the Oakland Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels. Considering the likelihood of that possibility, it generated more engagement and fooled more Twitter users than the James parody account.
In addition to the fact that James would not announce such a request through Twitter, he isn’t eligible to be traded until the start of the upcoming free agency period due to just signing a contract extension with the Lakers prior to the 2022-23 season beginning.
The fake James tweet nevertheless was an immediate cautionary tale for fans on social media. Twitter briefly included a secondary gray check mark to signify an official account, but Musk quickly scrapped that idea.
LeBron James pushing through left foot injury
After missing the second game of a back-to-back due to left foot soreness, James returned to the Lakers lineup against the L.A. Clippers and said only rest would allow him to get back to full health.
Given the struggling Lakers don’t have that option to provide James, he remains committed to playing through discomfort as the team looks to overcome mounting early losses. However, that could become more challenging as James suffered a groin injury in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ loss to the Clippers.
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