As every baseball fan hopes to see their favorite team in hot pursuit of Juan Soto ahead of the MLB trade deadline, there have been a slew of fake reports attributed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan making the rounds on social media.
Wednesday evening, Passan squashed those reports and urged fans to ignore any information featuring his name that didn’t come directly from him.
A quick deadline PSA: If I have news, you'll see it here. Look for the blue check. Do not believe anyone who says I said something on the radio or anywhere else. The only places I deliver news are on https://t.co/YgELfWbbfb and Twitter.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 27, 2022
“A quick deadline PSA: If I have news, you’ll see it here,” Passan tweeted. “Look for the blue check. Do not believe anyone who says I said something on the radio or anywhere else. The only places I deliver news are on http://ESPN.com and Twitter.”
As the “satirical” Ballsack Sports Twitter account continues to prove people are willing to believe anything on social media that’s backed by a bunch of likes and retweets, others are seemingly jumping on board to spread fake reports and rumors. On Wednesday, multiple tweets from unverified Twitter accounts picked up traction, claiming Passan went on local ESPN radio stations around the country with updated information on Soto.
This is huge.
Jeff Passan, speaking on 98.7 ESPN NY:
"Sources have confirmed to me that the Yankees have a massive offer on the table for Juan Soto in exchange for five of New York's top-10 prospects and 2B Gleyber Torres. To this point, Washington hasn't gotten a better deal."
— sz (@TrolleanPrince) July 27, 2022
Similar tweets were shared alleging Passan said the same thing on 101 ESPN and 97.3 The Fan, except those rumors replaced New York Yankees with the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres. So in one morning, Twitter made it seem like Passan was in the midst of a national radio tour, telling multiple fanbases that their favorite MLB teams were each on the verge of acquiring Soto.
The plot quickly crumbled and was soon completely squashed by Passan himself, but not before the reports were shared and liked by thousands on Twitter. I would fault the fans for falling for reports that appeared obviously fake, but even ESPN manages to regularly get tricked by the “satirical” Ballsack Sports. (And ESPN has also fallen for people impersonating their own insiders.) Amazingly, Passan didn’t make the same mistake many of his Worldwide Leader peers have, and was able to avoid getting tripped up by fake reports featuring his own name.
