Goofy Tate Ratledge Story Goes Viral

The internet really is a funny place.

This week, a completely fake story about Detroit Lions rookie offensive lineman Tate Ratledge circulated around the internet.

This writer has to admit when you work in sports, a significant amount of time is spent on the internet. The ability to decipher fake news from real reports is crucial to remain in partnership with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated.

Luckily, Lions OnSI has a functioning research department that is able to quickly identify satire and fake news. We glanced at The Onion article, quickly chuckled and moved on in less than 30 seconds.

Unfortunately, many of these type of stories, along with fake A.I. stories have been spread all over.

On far too many occasions, this writer has answered direct messages letting supporters of the Lions know that Aidan Hutchinson did not actually donate his entire salary to charity or that Dan Campbell is not about to become the next head coach of Michigan State.

Where do people read this stuff?

According to the satirical piece that eventally went viral, Ratledge approached Dan Campbell and requested time off from appearing in the Thanksgiving game to spend time with his family.

“I know we have a game scheduled, but my family has this big tradition every year where we all get together on that day and have a feast and watch football, and I really don’t want to miss i. I’ve already had to cancel a lot of weekend plans because of games this season, so I’m hoping I don’t have to back out on this, too. Plus, my mom said she’s making pecan pie just for me—it’s my favorite."

The story spread so fast the second-round draft pick received messages from many people who saw it. Local sports talk radio stations even took calls from fans thinking it was actually true.

There was also an outcry this week from several sports reporters and pundits complaining about a site that has many headlines deemed as clickbait ranked quite high on internet searches.

Detroit will take on the Green Bay Packers this year for the annual Thanksgiving Day classic. It will have significant meaning, as the NFC North division race is tight.

It is important to find reputable sources of information like Lions OnSI that have been around for many, many, many years.

Otherwise, you could find yourself spreading false and fake information all across the internet.