Every Internet user knows what this feels like. They boot up the computer, go to their favorite social media website and see a piece of jaw-dropping news from a presumably reputable source.
In this digital age, when immediacy is everything, they peck out an amazed reaction: “OMG did u just see?!? LeBron James traded to Knicks! #ringsbaby” Then, upon further examination, it turns out the “news” was as bogus as the Twitter account that reported it.
The difference is, when most people mess up, they can just delete the tweet and go back to anonymity. SportsCenter anchor Robert Flores did not have that luxury on Saturday, when he retweeted a “report,” allegedly by Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, that the Los Angeles Lakers and coach Phil Jackson had agreed to a three-year contract.
Flores quickly realized the tweet was a scam and almost instantly apologized. To his credit, Flores owned up to the snafu and did not delete the tweet, which was still in his feed several hours later.
Check out Flores’ mistaken retweet and his moment of realization in the tweets below.
Thumbnail photo via Flickr/Karine Simon Photography
