NFL Insider Adam Schefter Calls Out Impostor for Fake Report About Jeffrey Epstein and the Owner of the Carolina Panthers

ESPN

A Twitter account posing as NFL insider Adam Schefter was suspended after posting an outlandishly fake report involving Jeffrey Epstein and the owner of the Carolina Panthers.

Earlier in the week, it was reported that a federal judge ordered the release of more than 150 names of individuals mentioned in court documents. Those names include sex abuse victims of the late financier, witnesses, former employees, and “people with only a passing connection to the scandal.”

Using that information, one account — possibly a disgruntled Panthers fan — decided to throw owner David Tepper under the bus. The user changed their name and profile picture to make their account appear identical to that of the ESPN insider.

“Breaking News out of @FBI headquarters in Washington DC,” the user tweeted. “Names have leaked off the official Epstein client list. Notably on that list, Carolina Panthers owner, David Tepper.

“Internal discussions have begun within the circle of the NFL owners on how to remove Tepper as an owner.”

As Front Office Sports pointed out in its own tweet, the fake report was up for six hours before the account was finally suspended.

This fake post from an account posing as Adam Schefter was up for six hours and surpassed 2 million views.

The user was just suspended. pic.twitter.com/NeVf5TtBKl

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) December 21, 2023

Before the account was suspended, however, Schefter addressed the issue directly by responding to the tweet.

“This is completely false,” Schefter said under the now-deleted tweet. “X needs to respond to defamatory untrue statements like this.”

This is completely false. X needs to respond to defamatory untrue statements like this.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 21, 2023

This isn’t the first time reporters have been impersonated on the app, and it certainly won’t be the last. Thanks to users being given a blue verification badge just for subscribing to a premium membership, it’s become easier for people to pose as officials or celebrities to try and dupe the public.

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