Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. is not being investigated for potential violations of the NFL’s gambling policy. But on Monday, erroneous accounts from a fake Adam Schefter page said that he was.
That duped several people.
At 4:14 p.m. ET, a Twitter account claiming to be ESPN’s Adam Schefter said that Pittman was not simply under investigation, but had already been handed a lengthy suspension.
“#Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. has been suspended for the 2023-2024 NFL Regular Season following an investigation related to gambling, per sources,” the tweet said.
#Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. has been suspended for the 2023-2024 NFL Regular Season following an investigation related to gambling, per sources. pic.twitter.com/TSBOCzRVCd
— coach dilly (@GroundUpNFL) June 5, 2023
At the time of writing, that tweet had over 267,000 views. So, it made quite an impression.
Only, a closer look shows that it was a faux Schefter account.
For starters, Adam Schefter’s Twitter handle is @AdamSchefter. The one who tweeted the information about Pittman being suspended is @adamscheftrrre. Additionally, while some of the rules implemented by Elon Musk on Twitter have muddied the waters on verified and unverified accounts, @AdamSchefter is verified while @adamscheftrrre is not.
And there are other clues. @AdamSchefter joined Twitter in June 2009, follows more than 3,700 accounts and has over 10.3 million followers. @adamscheftrrre joined in February 2022 and at the time of writing, is following two accounts and has 29 followers.
Most fake accounts can be figured out but some require close looks than others. This one, though, was pretty obvious.
But the same name and photos being used was enough to make some people believe that Pittman was the man being suspended.
#Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. has been suspended for the 2023-2024 NFL Regular Season following an investigation related to gambling, per @AdamSchefter pic.twitter.com/X26PWCtvvG
— McClung Muse (@MacMcClung_Muse) June 5, 2023
Can you imagine if Michael Pittman bet against the Colts in this game and dropped this pass on purpose? pic.twitter.com/YGlSAL6LB2
— JJ Gruden (@TakingThePoint5) June 5, 2023
And…this is why you need to look in the name of the account, that's not actually Adam Schefter… figures fraudulent @nflrums would fall for it. pic.twitter.com/HkHMkGCU1z
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) June 5, 2023
The reports on Pittman were perhaps easier to believe because reports had come out that a member of the Colts was under investigation. Those reports were true.
Destin Adams of Colts on FN reported that cornerback Isaiah Rodgers was the Indianapolis player under investigation.
Sources have told me that the #Colts player under investigation for multiple gambling infractions is CB Isaiah Rodgers Sr. pic.twitter.com/a5x1uKGQff
— Destin Adams (@TheDestinAdams) June 5, 2023
That was corroborated by other accounts, including Schefter (the real one) in a tweet that has roughly twice the views of the fake.
NFL is probing the Colts' CB Isaiah Rodgers for possible betting, via @HolderStephen and @DavidPurdum:https://t.co/AT3ASAsmTQ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 5, 2023
If you see something on Twitter — either good or bad — take a few seconds to look into the account tweeting it. It’s well worth the time.
