Despite what you may have read recently, the Washington Redskins are not changing their name.
Despite what you may have read recently, the Washington Redskins are not changing their name, reports the Washington Post.
"An alliance of American Indian activists launched several online Web pages disguised as legitimate news outlets Wednesday, falsely claiming the Washington Redskins have bowed to political pressure and changed their controversial team nickname to the Redhawks," the Post noted.
According to USA Today, the fake websites announcing the team's decision to become the 'Washington Redhawks' were seeing significant online presence.
Each was very carefully crafted to mirror the appearances of well-known outlets including the Washington Post, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated.
A counterfeit Redskins homepage was making the rounds as well and included a news release. "The updated 'Washington Redhawks' was inspired by team owner Dan Snyder's deep admiration for Native Americans. 'It is a symbol of everything we stand for: strength, courage, pride, and respect—the same values we know guide Native Americans and which are embedded throughout their rich history as the original Americans,'" the release noted.
Eric Morrow, a BuzzFeed News editor, tweeted news of the elaborate hoax and noted that "the urls are all wrong."
It has also been discovered that the web addresses used were created only recently.
"This morning, the Redskins organization was made aware of fraudulent websites about our team name. The name of the team is the Washington Redskins and will remain that for the future," a team spokesperson told Politico in response to the hoax.
