Rabat – Several days after the satirical website, lecompetiteur, claimed that Argentinian star Lionel Messi allegedly donated €1 million to Israel, the four-time best player of the world debunked the rumor and denied that he had donated money to the Hebrew state.
According to Hispan TV, Lionel Messi stated that he uses his money to help build schools and hospitals for the poor in Argentina, adding that he can’t donate it “to those who kill children.”
As soon as the rumor regarding Messi’s alleged generosity towards Israel was published by le Competiteur on July 17, millions of people around the world believed it at face value, without questioning its veracity or inquiring about the credibility of the source that published it.
While many websites republished the same rumor, no major media outlet reported about it.
The same website that claimed Messi donated his World Cup prize money to Israel, claimed that the Algerian players had donated the totality of their World Cup prize money, worth $9 million, to the Palestinian children in Gaza. But this rumor, which was reported by many news outlets, including major ones, was not confirmed by any Algerian official.
As a recently as last week, the Algerian football federation announced that Algerian players would donate as little as $100,000 to the war-torn Gaza.
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