In 2017, one major recurring term was ‘fake news’ and there was definitely no shortage of interesting news stories. Some more appealing to others, one I found interesting was a fake article written about NHL player, Drew Doughty. The article claimed Doughty was taking a supplement that was described as giving him near-magic powers on and off the ice. Drew Doughty is one of the NHL’s top defenseman, so this article at first glance is intriguing.  

The article claimed that Doughty was under investigation by the NHL due to speculation of using PEDs or Performance Enhancing Drugs. Turns out, that was completely false as Doughty was not using any illegal products or had ever tested positive for PEDs throughout his career. The article also discusses how Doughty went around telling friends and family of his magical product, which led to it being released to the media. This was later put to rest as Doughty denied discussing any product, as he had not been using or ever used any. The article’s writer claimed that the product, ‘Alpha Force Testo’, helps to increase stamina, burn fat, and pack on extra muscle weight in short amounts of time, which is not true in the slightest as the product does not even exist. 

The fake news article circulated online on a fake ESPN website, that was thought to be real by many users. The website was designed to look exactly like the legitimate ESPN website, but carry fake or altered news stories relating to American Pro sports. The website is still accessible and so is the article discussed above, but is no longer considered authentic as multiple stories have been debunked as completely fake news. The writers used aliases such as Ryan Hasman to get the public to believe their made up or altered news stories.  

Fake news was a very large topic in 2017, with everything from fake stories relating to the election and President Trump, to lies about the sporting universe. It is in the best interest for the public to take each article read with a grain of salt as you never know what facts can be manipulated to sway your opinion on a topic.