People who write fake news stories have some free time on their hands after helping to get Donald Trump elected.
And unfortunately, the plane crash in Colombia earlier this week, that resulted in the death of 71 people, including almost the entire Chapecoense team, has been the subject of several false stories over the past few days.
First, there was the story that Cristiano Ronaldo donated €3m to the Brazilian club and family members of those who died in the tragic accident. The Real Madrid forward has been very generous with charity donations throughout his career, and is extremely wealthy, so such an act isn’t outside the realms of possibility.
However, he hasn’t donated €3m to Chapecoense, and there were no sources provided for numerous stories claiming he has donated to those affected by the plane crash.
The same applies to a false story claiming Paris Saint-Germain have donated €40m. The French club were forced to deny the story, which had gained traction on social media.
Le #PSG dément faire un don de 40 M€ à #Chapecoense.
— Le Parisien | PSG (@le_Parisien_PSG) November 29, 2016
And now there is a story, published by numerous outlets, claiming Ronaldinho and Juan Roman Riquelme are to come out of retirement to aid the devastated club.
https://twitter.com/JuanDirection57/status/804170878653263872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/JuanDirection57/status/804360062189928449
Ronaldinho and Riquelme have offered to come out of retirement and play for #Chapocoence for a year or two for free. Legends.
— Artur Petrosyan (@arturpetrosyan) December 1, 2016
Most of the stories cite an interview with Ronaldinho’s brother and agent Roberto Assis, in which he claims the former Barcelona forward will do all he can to help the club, but makes no mention of offering his playing services.
“If there is a contact, we can talk… I can only say that we are here and we want to help,” Assis told Brazilian media outlet GloboSporte.
Ronaldinho hasn’t played for a club since leaving Fluminense last September, but the 36-year-old has yet to officially announce his retirement.
The story linking him to Chapecoense appears to have been spread following a social media campaign urging him to help the club.
How Riquelme has been involved in the story is less clear.
The 38-year-old retired from football in January 2015, and according Daily Mirror journalist Ed Malyon, won’t be making a return to help out Chapecoense.
https://twitter.com/eaamalyon/status/804337133670502400
https://twitter.com/eaamalyon/status/804340696417239041
Yes, we live in the ‘post-truth’ age of social media echo chambers, when feelings matter more than facts. And sure, people would like to think two former world-class players would offer their services to help a club in their darkest hour.
However, it’s just not true, and such stories are unnecessary and distracting from what was a horrible tragedy.
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