A few days ago, a news story spread claiming that Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo had opened his Moroccan hotel Pestana CR7 Marrakech, to aid victims of a devastating earthquake in Morocco. Users quickly gained traction for this news on social media and widely shared it.
A lifestyle news portal, www.marca.com [archive], spread the initial fake news. From there, various social media influencers and outlets picked it up and further propagated false information about Ronaldo. The news was spread widely on social media platforms. However, the main accounts which shared the news were @marca, @spectatorindex, @Majstar7, @ProudFede, @Alhamdhulillaah and @sportbible.
The Truth about the Moroccan Hotel of Cristiano Ronaldo
However, French journalist Izem Anass exposed these claims. Firstly, he directly contacted the hotel management, who clearly denied such allegations. In addition, the Pestana CR7 Marrakech Hotel, a joint venture between Cristiano Ronaldo and the Moroccan Pestana Hotel Group, also confirmed that contrary to reports spreading online, the hotel has not been turned into a shelter for victims of the Morocco earthquake. Moreover, an employee from the hotel also stated in a report “This is false information. All the customers we have at the moment have made a reservation normally.”
The Earthquake in Morocco
On September 8, 2023, a powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit Morocco, causing significant damage and loss of life. The epicentre was in the High Atlas mountains, about 72 kilometres southwest of Marrakech, a city of some 840,000 people and a popular tourist destination. Overall, the earthquake resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people and caused vast damage to buildings. It was one of the most devastating earthquakes in Moroccan history. Moreover, sharing the fake news about the hotel of Cristiano Ronaldo in the hard times is not justified.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while the story of Cristiano Ronaldo and the Moroccan Hotel charity made for an inspiring narrative, it was unfortunately just a piece of fake news. Following comprehensive analysis and thorough fact-checking, our team investigated the claim. You can refer to the findings of this inquiry in the Twitter thread embedded below.
Claim: Cristiano Ronaldo opened his hotel in Morocco to help earthquake victims.
Fact: The hotel management has denied these claims. The news is fake and baseless.
