NBC News found itself at the center of an internet trollfest on Tuesday when it announced that Olympic champion Usain Bolt had been diagnosed with COVID-19. The problem? A photo of comedian Kevin Hart showed up instead of Bolt.
There’s no way NBC actually used a Kevin Hart pic for usain bolt getting covid … Lmao pic.twitter.com/enaG7IDkUL
— john (@iam_johnw) August 25, 2020
Given that Kevin Hart stands at 5’4 while Usain bolt towers above him at 6’5, people on Twitter were confused how the case of mistaken identity occurred, including Hart.
In an Instagram post, the comedian denounced the photo mishap as being “disrespectful on so many levels.”
“No comment,” he said. “I must of gotten really fast & tall overnight…I want to take advantage of this moment & race anybody in the world. We can bet whatever…S**t just got real. I am also no longer doing comedy due to my Olympic training schedule….IM BACK BITCHES!!!!!! P.S this is Disrespectful on so many levels…All you can do is laugh. Maybe the COVID-19 shrunk his legs & torso.”
Other social media users scolded NBC News for committing the “they all look alike” racial gaffe.
“So which one of yalls non-black employees thought Kevin Hart was a whole ass 6’5 sprinter from Jamaica,” tweeted one user.
So which one of yalls non-black employees thought Kevin Hart was a whole ass 6'5 sprinter from Jamaica. pic.twitter.com/1p8mG84Jja
— Khadjiah Johnson (@iamkdjiah) August 25, 2020
Other users contended that the photo mishap occurred from a glitch with Facebook that allows for posted stories to feature an image from another article on the page.
“ppl are burning NBC today because Facebook pulled a thumb of Kevin Hart for its story on Usain Bolt. That’s not NBC’s fault; Facebook has had a bug for several years that can pull an image from a related story on the page and insist on it being the header. It happened to us!” tweeted Timothy Burke of Deadspin.
ppl are burning NBC today because Facebook pulled a thumb of Kevin Hart for its story on Usain Bolt. That's not NBC's fault; Facebook has had a bug for several years that can pull an image from a related story on the page and insist on it being the header. It happened to us! pic.twitter.com/NJ0WuKob82
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) August 25, 2020
NBC News confirmed that this “technical error” arose from Facebook and that the photo of Kevin Hart in place of Usain Bolt was not selected by the company.
“Correction: Due to a technical error, the social image on this post mistakenly featured a photo of comedian Kevin Hart,” the correction stated. “In the content management system, a social image was not selected, and the system reverted to an image of Hart from an unrelated video. The display image has been corrected.”
NBC News also publicly apologized to Kevin Hart. “Very sorry about that @KevinHart4real – bad technical glitch in how photos show up on Facebook,” tweeted the outlet.
Though the photo of Usain Bolt was false, the story about him testing positive for COVID-19 was not. As reported by the Daily Beast, the Olympic champion tested positive for the virus after hosting a maskless birthday party.
“World-record sprinter Usain Bolt has tested positive for the coronavirus, days after celebrating his 34th birthday with a maskless party,” reported the outlet. “Jamaica’s Ministry of Health confirmed that the eight-time Olympic gold medalist had contracted the virus. Bolt posted an image to social media last week with his 5-month-old daughter, declaring it the ‘Best birthday ever.'”
Usain Bolt said of the diagnosis on Twitter, “I’m trying to be responsible, so I’m going to stay in and stay away from my friends. I’m having no symptoms (but) am going to quarantine myself.”