Fact check: No, Simone Biles did not announce her pregnancy and retirement Jordan Lyles
Fact check: No, Simone Biles did not announce her pregnancy and retirement
Jordan Lyles
Rumors that Fox News had reported that Simone Biles had announced her retirement and pregnancy spread online, leading users to search for her name using words such as “retirement,” “pregnancy,” and “baby.”
In late July 2024, FOX News reported that American gymnast Simone Biles had publicly announced her pregnancy and retirement for the first time. Netizens shared this false claim even though Fox News did not report such news.
Rumors are circulating online that Fox News broke a big story about 11-time Olympic medalist and American gymnast Simone Biles. Rumors dating back to at least late July 2024 suggest that Biles would announce her retirement after first publicly announcing her pregnancy at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with Fox News reporting that “she’s ‘expecting a baby.'”
At the same time that this rumor was circulating among users, Biles was busy winning a few medals from those very same Olympics. The Associated Press reported that “the woman who a few years ago didn’t even think she’d be here will leave Paris, and in what will likely be her last Olympics, with three gold medals, one silver medal, and perhaps something even more valuable: peace.”
One reader emailed Snopes in early August 2024, asking, “Is Simone Biles pregnant and retiring?” Another wrote, “I’ve seen two places say Simone Biles is currently pregnant, and one place denies the pregnancy. What’s true?
Social media users either copied and pasted the same text or simply shared the rumor in their own words. The copied and pasted text identified himself as Biles’ husband, Chicago Bears quarterback Jonathan Owens, and read:
JUST WHAT: Fox News just reported that the most decorated American Olympic gymnast of all time, Simone Biles, has announced her retirement at age 27 after winning gold at the Paris Olympics, and revealed that she is “expecting a baby” with husband Jonathan Owens. This exciting discovery marks a new chapter in her life, as she stepped away from competitive gymnastics to focus on her growing family.
However, the rumor turned out to be false. If Fox News had truly reported about this matter or if Biles announced her pregnancy or retirement, prominent news organizations around the world would have picked up the story.
According to a search of both FoxNews.com and Fox News TV channel\’s text captions, the news network did not report any developments about Biles announcing a pregnancy or retirement, nor did she make any such statements on her own in late July 2024. We also found no credible evidence that Fox News published the story on its website and then deleted all related content. A Fox News spokesperson told Snopes via email, “Fox News never reported this.”
How the Simone Biles Rumor Began
In our initial research, the oldest post promoting the rumor appeared on Facebook in late July. On July 31, Facebook user DailyMailReport2.0 posted (archived) to the Patrick Mahomes and Brittany Mahomes Facebook group that Fox News “just reported” that Biles had announced her retirement and pregnancy. 5, this was the oldest post online that mentioned the rumor.
A rumor surfaced online that Fox News reported that Simone Biles had announced her retirement and pregnancy, prompting people to search for her name using the words “retired,” “pregnant,” and “baby.” According to online rumors, Fox News reported that Simone Biles has announced her retirement and pregnancy, and has led users to retire, get pregnant, and search for her name with the word babies.
This post is linked to the usalod.com article. This is a website that doesn’t seem to be a reliable news source. For example, the lack of the terms of use on the website and the privacy policy contributed to its unreliable appearance. In addition, a specific link on the website has caused a suspicious and unusual redirection that reminds us of a previous report on a similar website that supports malware.
The website lists the name “Valerie Yancy \” as the author of the story. No information was found about a blogger of the same name, so it is unlikely that this is the author’s real name.
In a surprising and heartwarming announcement, Fox News reported that Simone Biles, the most decorated Olympic gymnast in American history, is retiring at age 27. This news appeared shortly after Vyles and her teammates provided money in the 202 team finals.
