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Quick Take
Lia Thomas, who received widespread attention as a transgender member of the women’s swimming team at the University of Pennsylvania, has graduated from college and is no longer on the school team. But claims about her persist online, including one recent falsehood, which originated on a satirical site, claiming that she joined a men’s team.
Full Story
Lia Thomas, a transgender woman who competed on the University of Pennsylvania women’s swimming team, became a focal point in the discussion about transgender women in sports after she started hormone therapy and qualified to join the women’s team in 2021, her final year as a college athlete.
Although Thomas describes herself as private, she became a lightning rod for social and political commentators as well as some sports commentators airing views on transgender rights.
Thomas graduated in 2022 and, according to her Instagram account, she has started law school, focusing on civil rights and public interest law.
Even though Thomas is no longer swimming on a school team and is swimming recreationally, claims about her persist online.
One such claim that was first posted in October is still circulating on social media, falsely claiming that Thomas has chosen to “Swim With A Men’s Team After Extreme Criticism.”
Posts of the claim, which look like news reports on Facebook, have garnered comments such as, “That is where he always belonged.”
But the claim originated on a satirical website that describes its articles as “fake news.”
The website, called SpaceXMania, describes its mission this way: “To bring you the freshest fake news, some sassy analysis, and a good dose of satire, all rolled into one crazy concoction that orbits around Elon Musk and everything that’s lighting up the viral/trending charts.”
It also says, “every single article on our site is about as real as a unicorn sipping on a rainbow smoothie. They’re pure fantasy, folks, not a snapshot of reality.”
The claim circulating on social media doesn’t carry the satire label, appearing as if it’s a real news story. But it’s completely made up.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.
Sources
Sanchez, Robert. “‘I Am Lia’: The Trans Swimmer Dividing America Tells Her Story.” Sports Illustrated. 3 Mar 2022.
Diversion (@diversionaudio). “Should trans women be included in women’s sports? ✶ with Lia Thomas.” YouTube. 24 Apr 2023.
Thomas, Lia (@liakthomas). “First semester in the books! All with the help of Rocky sitting in my lap while I studied ✌️.” Instagram. 21 Dec 2022.
Barnes, Katie. “Former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas responds to critics: ‘Trans women competing in women’s sports does not threaten women’s sports.'” ABC News. 31 May 2022.
Bruno, Alex. “Breaking: Lia Thomas to Swim With A Men’s Team After Extreme Criticism.” SpaceXMania.com. 21 Oct 2023.