FACT-CHECK: Michael Jordan Rejects Nike’s $10 Million Deal — “I’m Not Saving Your Woke Brand”

I saw this trending earlier today on Twitter and figured it was good to do a Fact-Check.

Even when it’s a story I “like” and hope is true, we still have a duty to the truth here and that’s what we will always pursue.

We don’t publish stories or amplify posts just because we agree with them and “hope” they are true.

We research and then we report the results — good, bad or ugly.

This is what’s been going viral on Twitter today, and based on the image in the Tweet it first went viral on Facebook:

👍Michael Jordan an 🤮NIKE: "Ich rette deine Woke-Marke nicht!" Gut gebrüllt! pic.twitter.com/oPt2jW0trO

— SILBER-FRAU (@SILVERF26971227) December 11, 2023

Other posts here:

“I Won’t Go Woke”: Michael Jordan Walks Away from NIKE’s $10 Million Offer https://t.co/bR1cSZG2Ig

— harold hand (@haroldhand8) December 12, 2023

And here

@Nike go woke go broke Jordan leaves Nike after signing fake women @DylanMulvaneyUShttps://t.co/OpwaZdep8y

— The Man Myth Legend (@TheManMythL3gnd) December 11, 2023

While Michael Jordan is famous for saying “Republicans buy shoes too” when asked why he doesn’t get political, it still seemed like a bridge too far that this story would be true.

Also, the $10 million was very suspect.

That was my first clue this story was likely Fake News.

In 2023 alone, Michael Jordan earned an impressive $330 million from his Jordan Brand sales with Nike. This significant increase of 28.6% from the previous year’s earnings highlights the continued success and popularity of the Jordan Brand, further solidifying Michael Jordan’s status as a top-tier athlete and business icon.

Jordan’s $330-million earnings spotlighted Amid Nike’s volunteer request from teachershttps://t.co/gyzyGViSVZ#JordanBrand #SalesImpact #MichaelJordan #NikeEarnings2023 #NikeVolunteerControversy #TeacherCompensationIssues pic.twitter.com/uqgYDIkyS8

— Billionaires.Africa (@NineZeroClub) December 6, 2023

So $10 million makes no sense.

I then ran it by Twitter’s Grok, which confirmed my research was correct:

I do take one issue with Grok’s reply….

I don’t think publishing intentionally misleading and fake stories with no real comedic or satirical value should be deemed “satire”.

This is not satire.

This is just an attempt to mislead and get clicks.

We deem this story FAKE NEWS.