The art of trolling is an ageless practice that many internet users have mastered, and the most successful trolls usually elicit a response or stir up some viral media drama with their intended target. This is exactly what happened in the case of Magic Johnson, who was trolled by the internet and responded, though his response was rather textbook.
Fact Check: Magic Johnson Did NOT Donate Blood To 'Help Underprivileged Communities Help Fight COVID-19' In This Video https://t.co/hNtLZshtSS
— Lead Stories (@LeadStoriesCom) August 22, 2022
Earvin “Magic” Johnson is denying a “false story” alleging that he donated blood to patients with COVID-19 last week through Red Cross. This allegation is coming from a satirical twitter account that even makes users aware of their false information, and fake news that they spread throughout social media.
The post featured a picture of Magic, who has HIV, sitting in a chair with a needle in his arm that seems to be drawing blood from the former Lakers legend. There was a caption accompanying the picture of Magic that stated:
“Earlier today, NBA legend Magic Johnson donated some of his blood to the Red Cross to help underprivileged communities help fight COVID-19. 🐐🙌.”
Though this post has since been deleted, it didn’t take long for it to go viral, bringing plenty of questions and a bit of scrutiny to Magic.
Magic Johnson took an approach opposite of current NBA superstar Kevin Durant in his rebuttal to the social media banter and trolling. In his response he simply let it be known that he has seen the tweet and is aware of it, and he assured everyone that he did not donate any blood to the Red Cross.
“I’m aware of the false story circling the internet and to be clear, I have never donated blood,” Johnson tweeted on Tuesday in response to that deleted tweet.
I’m aware of the false story circling the internet, and to be clear, I have never donated blood.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) August 23, 2022
The picture itself of his blood being drawn is apparently from 2012, from PBS Frontline called “Endgame: AIDS In Black America” according to The Associated Press. The photo was taken while Magic was having his blood taken during a doctor’s appointment with his longtime physician, Dr. David Ho, according to the New York Post.
Magic Johnson is 63-years-old, a widely renowned businessman, has plenty of separate ventures going on and still finds time to pop in on sports shows to talk hoops with his sky high basketball IQ. It’s fair to say he would rather not waste time going back and forth on the internet with petty trolls who are looking for clickviews, comments, and reposts. The sheer fact that he did give it the time of day has probably already boosted their social media visibility.
His attention to this tweet was necessary though, because it is imperative that he let the public know that he wasn’t donating his blood to the masses. If he didn’t say anything it would’ve been a nightmare and the media would’ve torn him a new one.
While some would say that his response was very subtle and it may’ve not seemed like he really had any care for sending the tweet out, Magic was clear-cut and straight to the facts. He shot those rumors down so that he could quickly continue his busy week. This was a masterclass in handling the social media trolls that were trying to use his name for attention.
