Some of the fake Twitter accounts out there look incredibly real. Even if you know all of the ins and outs of the Twitter world, it’s not that difficult to be fooled into thinking a parody account is the real thing. That being said, there are a couple of very basic indicators you can look for. For starters, that little blue check mark that means it is a “verified” account. However, some pro athletes and legitimate reporters do not have the check mark, so that isn’t exactly a slam dunk. Another solid indication is the amount of followers a person has. Miami news station WSVN missed both of those late Thursday night.
As you can see from the video above that Barstool Sports shared with us, WSVN came at their viewers hard with some “breaking news” just after 11 p.m. that Ray Allen had signed a three-year deal with the Heat. Allen is visiting the Heat, but he has yet to make a decision about his future. However, The fake Adrian Wojnarowski account says he has made up his mind.
Ray Allen is finalizing the final details of a 3 yr/11 Million Dollar withthe Miami Heat and will sign it tonight. Sources tell Y!
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahoooNBA) July 6, 2012
This certainly isn’t the first time we’ve seen a hilarious news blunder in Miami, and it’s not quite as bad as this screw up from a Maine anchor. In fairness, the avatar and background of the parody page are identical to the real page. However, any Yahoo! Sports account is bound to have slightly more than 97 followers. On top of that, the last piece of “news” that came from this account was that Dwight Howard has been traded to the Lakers.
In summary, check the number of followers before passing a major news story along. And relax, Celtics fans — Ray Ray hasn’t gone to the dark side just yet.
