Following the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse on charges related to a fatal shooting during protests last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin, some speculated the teenager would pursue defamation lawsuits against media outlets and public figures.
Rittenhouse's attorney recently told USA TODAY no lawsuits have been filed, but that hasn't stopped people from claiming otherwise on social media.
A recent Facebook post asserts that a federal magistrate approved a defamation lawsuit from Rittenhouse against Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who mocked the 18-year-old on Twitter for crying in court during his murder trial.
"Kyle Rittenhouse is suing racist LeBron James for defamation," reads a Facebook post shared on Nov. 30.
Similar versions of the claim were shared to Twitter and Facebook, where one Dec. 1 post generated more than 400 shares before it was deleted.
But the claim is inaccurate, according to Rittenhouse's spokesperson. The rumor stems from a website that regularly publishes satirical articles that are reposted to social media as if they are genuine news reports.
Special access for subscribers! Click here to sign up for our fact-check text chat
The Facebook users who shared the post did not return requests for comment.
The headline seen in the post comes from an article on Potatriots Unite, a parody and satire website that is a subsidiary of America’s Last Line of...
HELENA, Mont. — Three Montana health care providers have been arrested for claiming health services that were never provided. The Department of Justice's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit revealed over ...