I has been claimed that New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers was facing a lifetime suspension from the NFL due to his “suspiciously speedy” recovery. However, this claim has been thoroughly debunked as false following an investigation by the fact-checking website Snopes.
The investigation revealed that the rumour originated from a deceptive paid advertisement displayed on Facebook by Meta. The advertisement falsely announced, “Aaron Rodgers facing lifetime suspension,” and redirected users to a site that mimics Fox News.
The fictitious site falsely attributed its content to Brit Hume, Fox News’ chief political analyst, with a headline that sensationalized the matter: “Aaron Rodgers gets caught! The NFL’s investigation into his ‘suspiciously speedy’ recovery reveals something shocking.”
The article falsely linked Rodgers’ rapid recovery from an Achilles tendon injury, which occurred during the Jets’ season opener against the Buffalo Bills in September of the previous year, to his alleged use of Bloom CBD Gummies.
Snopes determined that the fraudulent article was hosted on Cickross, not on Fox News, and was entirely fabricated to promote a CBD gummy scam. Further scrutiny revealed that the domain registrant for Cickross might be located in China, according to an ICANN Lookup search.
Additionally, Snopes noted that Meta has been accepting payments to display these misleading and fraudulent advertisements about Rodgers since at least October 2023. This situation highlights significant challenges in monitoring and regulating false advertising on major social media platforms.
