In this new age of social media, misinformation is running rampant, especially on Elon Musk’s version of Twitter known as X. And with opening of the transfer portal, the NCAA Tournament, and the coaching carousel happening all at once, college basketball seems especially ripe for misinformation to run amok throughout the sport.
That appears to be happening thanks to a troll account that is giving A Darn Schefter a run for his money when it comes to spreading fake news far and wide.
Meet Rob Reinhart.
Reinhart’s X account has just 4,500 followers and his bio reads as follows, “Husband. Father. Marine Corps vet. Covering all-things sports for the Herald. Auburn alum. All opinions are my own. Have a news tip? DM me!”
It’s a clever troll account in that there is plenty of real-time college basketball commentary spread amongst the fake news. And maybe that’s helping the account deceive so many people on social media, because in the last two days, “Rob Reinhart” has seen two supposedly huge college basketball stories go viral.
First was a “report” on Monday that Raleigh police had launched an investigation into the threats made by a UConn staffer to a North Carolina reporter after recording Dan Hurley launching a tirade in the tunnel after losing to Florida in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. Reinhart said the NCAA was considering a postseason ban and that “local law enforcement is also investigating the matter, as making threats is illegal in North Carolina.”
#BREAKING: The NCAA and Raleigh police have launched an investigation into UConn’s athletic department, per source.
Following the Huskies loss to Florida, Dan Hurley went on an explicative filled rant that was caught on video by a member of the media. UConn’s Director of Men’s… pic.twitter.com/qJhH4NrJlF
— Rob Reinhart (@RealRobReinhart) March 24, 2025
While believing that the police investigating a communications staffer trying to intimidate a reporter is one thing, could you imagine anyone actually thinking that the NCAA works that quickly? A postseason ban and scholarship losses after 24 hours? Please! The NCAA isn’t even close to reaching a resolution on the Connor Stalions thing and that happened almost two years ago!
Second was a “scoop” on Tuesday that Richard Pitino would leave New Mexico and be named the next head coach at Villanova.
#BREAKING: Villanova will hire New Mexico’s Richard Pitino as its next head coach, per source.
I’m told that former Lobos PG and top transfer portal target Donovan Dent is likely to follow Pitino, but that is yet to be confirmed. pic.twitter.com/zx7cyVjD6T
— Rob Reinhart (@RealRobReinhart) March 25, 2025
As of late Tuesday night, the Hurley tweet had well over 6 million views and the Pitino tweet had well over 1 million. They were each shared countless times over as legitimate news by legitimate social media accounts, only causing the misinformation to spread like wildfire. Of course, neither one have been corroborated by any legitimate accounts. And hilariously, actual reporter Jon Rothstein came out later on Tuesday night saying that Richard Pitino had been hired by Xavier, not Villanova.
Sources: Xavier will hire New Mexico’s Richard Pitino as its next head basketball coach.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 26, 2025
While the college basketball universe was caught in these troll traps, it wasn’t even the first time this season that we have encountered fake news coming from the Rob Reinhart account.
Back in the fall, it was reports about Ed Cooley leaving Georgetown for the University of Virginia that were gaining very real attention. At the time, our Andrew Bucholtz looked into Reinhart and found all the makings of a troll account.
But the Reinhart account carries its own questions. The bio of “Covering all-things sports for the Herald since 2024. Previously @SInow and @bleacherreport. Auburn alum. All opinions are my own.” is more reasonable than Charles’ But the linked “Herald” is a site using the old New York Herald (the 1835-1924 newspaper, which then went on through 1966 as the New York Herald-Tribune following a merger) name and header.
At first glance, it could conceivably be an actual news site, with apparent stories in everything from “U.S.” to “World” to “Sports,” and with many of the sports ones under Reinhart’s byline. But there’s no about or contact information on that site beyond a form, and the actual stories (which, in sports, have the most recent of “Yankees at the All-Star break: A disasterclass,” bylined by Reinhart) require a $25 a month subscription to read, so what’s actually there is unclear without that payment.
There is still a “Rob Reinhart” that has articles at this “Herald” website in its sports section. Here is his most recent sports headline.
While it’s obviously a troll account filled with false info, the dubious nature of the Reinhart account hasn’t stopped some websites like Sports Illustrated and Yahoo from aggregating his reports as legitimate news.
Troll accounts have been part of social media ever since the platforms began. But we are uniquely situated in this present moment to see misinformation spread like never before and this is just the latest bizarre example. All you can do is check, recheck, and check your facts again. And hope and pray that you aren’t someone who gets caught up in the deluge of deceit.
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