VIDEO: ESPN "Verified" a Fake Mike Dunleavy Twitter Account

Mike Dunleavy, who is not on Twitter, was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. A fake Mike Dunleavy account then tweeted a message to LeBron James. ESPN News featured it on air while discussing the move.

This type of thing happens rather frequently in 2016. Many parody accounts exist for the sole purpose of fooling media outlets. People get their thrills in weird ways.

But there’s an added unique element here. The fake Dunleavy account cited has only 3,641 followers and no blue check mark indicating it’s been verified. And yet there’s a blue check mark on the ESPN broadcast.

[UPDATE: The blue check mark was mistakenly inserted and it shouldn’t have been, according to ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz.]

The tweet was plain boring and added little to the story. Dunleavy is also not a player that’s going to move the needle unless he does something highly controversial. Asking a new teammate if he’s ready for the future is as vanilla as it comes.

[HT @HistoricalRyan]