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There's a controversial photo centered around Magic Johnson going viral on the internet for the wrong reasons. The Los Angeles Lakers icon was depicted getting some blood drawn from his right arm with the erroneous caption indicating that he was in the process of donating some of his blood just earlier this year.
The issue gets complicated given that Magic Johnson is HIV positive. However, it's been debunked as a hoax with the picture originating from a documentary from 2012 which simply showed the Laker legend getting his blood routinely drawn for his doctors. The Associate Press has managed to fact-check the image and confirm it to be one spreading false information.
A 10-year-old image of NBA legend Magic Johnson is being shared with an incorrect caption to falsely claim it shows him donating blood. The 2012 photo shows him having his blood routinely tested. Here are the facts. https://t.co/5l2P9AVCrl
— AP Fact Check (@APFactCheck) August 23, 2022
The news spread far enough to reach Magic Johnson himself, who responded to the story in order to refute the claims of donating his blood once and for all.
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“I’m aware of the false story circling the internet, and to be clear, I have never donated blood,” said Magic Johnson on Twitter.
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 sheer pointlessness of spreading false rumors like this for such a sensitive topic makes it all the more baffling that someone would start such a claim. Magic Johnson still had a ton of great basketball left in him back in 1991 before announcing that he would be stepping away from the game due to his positive HIV result. He missed four seasons before briefly returning to play 32 games during the 1995-96 season before he eventually retired. He was 36 years old at the time.
