Pat McAfee Received Death Threats Over a Fake Trump Quote He Never Said

Pat McAfee spent his weekend dealing with death threats over a quote he never said. A satirical account on X posted a fabricated claim that the ESPN host picked Trump to win the Texas-Tennessee game, complete with a made-up line about only rooting for Team USA. Even though the account labeled itself as satire, the post went viral with over a million views, and plenty of people believed it was real.

The fallout turned dangerous. McAfee shared screenshots on Sunday showing threats he received, including one comment that referenced the assassination of Charlie Kirk. He also raised a bigger question about platform accountability: if X’s community note appears much later, does the platform actually push that correction back into the feeds of everyone who saw the original post? He also called out OutKick writer Jon Root, who apologized for misinterpreting McAfee’s separate comments about a military flyover.

This story is a glaring example of how fast misinformation can spiral into real-world consequences. A fake post, a viral moment, and then actual threats against a public figure. It raises uncomfortable questions about who’s responsible when satire gets taken as fact and the correction never catches up to the lie.

What do you think — should platforms do more to make sure corrections reach everyone who saw the original post? Sound off in the comments.