Long before Elon Musk got here, ESPN personalities were being fooled by fake tweets. Now that we live in the post-legitimate blue checkmark era, it’s easier than ever for someone to spread fake news by pretending to be a reporter or by sharing a made-up quote.
Even so, it’s extremely funny that ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins got duped by a viral Twitter joke about how Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga has experienced an absurd growth spurt.
As compiled by Sporting News, the joke began over the weekend when Twitter account Rackzz206 posted a tweet that included a fake quote from Golden State’s Moses Moody and claimed that the 6’7″ 20-year-old had sprouted into being seven feet tall.
“I’m not lying,” read the fake Moody quote. “He’s tall as **** now.”
https://twitter.com/Rackzz206/status/1670262712386093058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1670262712386093058%7Ctwgr%5Ea54208476596a8d995cbdb935eee14b5dbd03525%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportingnews.com%2Fus%2Fnba%2Fnews%2Fjonathan-kuminga-height-fact-checking-growth-spurt-rumors%2Fnnad7rno7mqwijm7coemlmlb
The next day, the account let the cat out of the bag, saying that the quote and height claim was a joke that was “nowhere near true” and that they were “jus trolling.”
However, Twitter decided to do what it does best. It ran with the bit and started adding onto it. A lot of that probably had to do with Warriors veteran Andre Iguodala replying to the initial tweet, joking that Kuminga was actually 7’2″.
I just saw JK. He 7’2
— andre (@andre) June 19, 2023
From there, an account called KumingaMuse photoshopped a fake image of Kuminga standing next to 6’4″ teammate Jordan Poole.
https://twitter.com/KumingaMuse/status/1670836719367897088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1670836719367897088%7Ctwgr%5Ea54208476596a8d995cbdb935eee14b5dbd03525%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportingnews.com%2Fus%2Fnba%2Fnews%2Fjonathan-kuminga-height-fact-checking-growth-spurt-rumors%2Fnnad7rno7mqwijm7coemlmlb
Then, other Twitter tricksters started inserting other young NBA players into the bit. One said that LaMelo Ball had a similar growth spurt and was now 7’0″. Another said Daniel Theis had grown from 6’8″ to 7’11” at 31 years of age. And another said that Peyton Watson had rocketed up from 6’7″ to 7’5″.
It’s all fun and games until Kendrick Perkins, who has been known to get duped by fake tweets before, came across the obviously silly bit and assumed it was true, passing it along during a SportsCenter appearance Tuesday.
https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1671339527515021312
“From reports, I’m hearing that Jonathan Kuminga is now 7’2″,” said Perkins. “The kid has gotten better every single season.”
In case you’re wondering if he knows yet, he sure does now. Perk was alerted to the truth of his “reports” Tuesday night and reacted the only way he could.
“I hate this damn app.” wrote Perkins.
https://twitter.com/kendrickperkins/status/1671324257459027970
Turns out, for at least a little while longer, Twitter can still be good sometimes.
[Sporting News, Kendrick Perkins]
