Factcheck this

Venus Williams refused to play against a transgender female athlete.

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in General Factchecking by Innovator (50.7k points)
Venus Williams refused to play against a transgender female athlete.
https://www.instagram.com/imajicktv/reel/C0rKliHN396/
by (140 points)
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False, the photo used to talk about Venus is actually her sister, Serena. There is no evidence going around that Venus is against playing against a transgender.
by (150 points)
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This claim is false, after research, I found that the claim had no trace of being true. Venus has no record of being placed to play against a transgender. The photo used was a past photo of her sister Serena. USA Today said on their website after fact-checking, "The claim originated on a satirical website. There is no evidence Venus Williams forfeited a tennis match to a transgender woman." The post was created on and originated on an unreliable and fake website.
by (100 points)
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This comment is extremely false and entirely out of context. A satire website originally produced this claim without evidence. The picture in the article was not of Venus but instead of her sister Serena from years ago. They even used a fake quote that Venus or Serena never said. No credible news sources supported this story and wrote about it. Also, a quick google search to see Venus's latest games shows she hasn't had a recent forfeit or has played against the opponent the article claimed she was scheduled to compete against.
by (150 points)
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This claim is false as the quote posted in the picture stems from a fake and satire news outlet that goes by America’s Last Line of Defense. The news outlet themselves make it clear they identify as satire on their Facebook page.

19 Answers

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by Novice (540 points)
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Best answer

This claim is false. There is no evidence of Venus Williams saying anything of the sort. The origin of this claim is a satire article by Conservative Tears. On the "About Us" section of the website, it says "Any similarities between this site’s pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental, and all images should be considered altered and satirical." No credible news sources have corroborated this claim.

False
2 like 0 dislike
by Novice (700 points)

This originated from a Facebook post of April 14, the original Facebook post has a false information warning on it. The photo itself is not of Venus but instead of her sister Serena Williams in 2022, there were multiple stories written directly addressing Serena's outfit shown in the photo linked on Facebook. The other woman shown in the post is Amélie Mauresmo, a cisgender Frenchwoman. I haven't been able to find any evidence that Venus has played a transgender athlete or refused to play against one. The only record I've been able to find of a transgender professional tennis player is when Renée Richards played in the 1970s.

False
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by (180 points)
The post on Instagram is not even a picture of Venus Williams but a picture of her sister Serena. According to USA Today, the original post was made on Facebook on April 14th. That post has since been taken down. Also according to USA Today the post was created on a satirical website with zero credible reporters. I was also unable to find any evidence that Venus Williams has ever played a transgender tennis player.
False
by Innovator (50.7k points)
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Do you have the USA Today URL? It's always best to provide links to all your sources. Thanks!
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by Newbie (260 points)

The claim that tennis star Venus Williams refused to play in a tennis match against a transgender opponent is completely false. The trending misinformation originated from a Facebook post and had no trace of factual information backing it up. Multiple large news outlets have debunked the rumor and have characterized the original post as satire. USA Today has taken the steps to look into the claim and the user who first posted about it. They wrote, "The claim originated with the satirical network America’s Last Line of Defense, which labels itself as satire on its "About Us" page, saying, "Everything on this website is fiction." Overall, this claim is completely false. 

Sources: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2024/04/19/venus-williams-forfeit-transgender-woman/73384731007/

False
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by Newbie (200 points)

This is False. This originated in 2014 with a news post reading, "Venus Williams Forfeits Match Against Trans Woman: 'I’m Not Playing a Man." Some praised Williams for "finally standing up," but this was indeed fake. This post originated from a satirical network called America's Last Line of Defense. The picture on this post does not even include a picture of Venus, but rather her sister Serena. This website frequently makes posts similar to this.

Satire
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by (140 points)
This is a false story. I read the USA Today article which described their method of fact checking the story and included links to the primary sources. I checked the original article that was linked to the Facebook post which spread the narrative and the article provided no reliable evidence to back the claim.
by Innovator (50.7k points)
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Don't forget to always include hyperlinks to your source(s). Thanks!
0 like 0 dislike
by Newbie (250 points)
The comment is false.  The idea originated from a satirical account and it spread way out of context.  The picture used in the post was actually a picture of Serena and the quote was a fake quote.  USA Today added that there was no credible sources to back up the claim.
False
by Innovator (50.7k points)
0 0
Don't forget to always include hyperlinks to your source(s). Thanks!
0 like 0 dislike
by Newbie (240 points)
False
by Innovator (50.7k points)
0 0
Fact-checks include the reason why you believe a claim to be true, false, etc. Stating that the claim is false and providing a link is not enough. For instance, you can provide background information and details that debunk the claim.
0 like 0 dislike
by Newbie (210 points)

Reuters Fact Check

This claim came from a satire article. The opponent that Venus Williams forfeited against is not a trans-woman. Her name is Amelia Mauresmo. 

Satire
0 like 0 dislike
by Newbie (240 points)
This article is false. This false claim was started on a website where they state everything is fictional but was quickly spread to many other social media platforms. This whole thing was a fictional situation and Vesus Williams was never scheduled to play a transgender person. An article by USA Today stated that this is an example of stolen satire. It was a false claim meant to be satire that was placed by others in a context that was meant to be believable.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2024/04/19/venus-williams-forfeit-transgender-woman/73384731007/
False
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