How To Troll ESPN Into Delivering Fake News In Five Easy Steps

Have you ever wanted to make The Worldwide Leader look bad? Take a page out of "Adarn Schefter's" book.

1. Wait For A Particularly Insane News Story

MARK LEFFINGWELL / Reuters

For example, Tim Tebow possibly being traded to the New York Jets. Rumors are flying everywhere. Twitter is abuzz with theories. And when the dust settles, every news agency will want to be able to say they were first. It's like YouTube comments, only the winner isn't told to "die in a fire." This is your time to strike.

2. Pick A Twitter Account To Impersonate

You can't just pick any Twitter account. You need to find one with letters that can be mimicked. For instance a capital "I" can be replaced with a lower-case "L." In yesterday's case the "m" in @AdamSchefter was replaced by an "r" and an "n," which when viewed next to each other looks pretty convincing. Don't forget to make their profile picture, your profile picture.

3. Tweet Something People Want To Believe

Now that you have your great fake Twitter account, and hopefully built up a few followers (which if you've faked the account well, shouldn't be hard), you have to figure out what to say. The secret for biggest impact? Give the people what they want.

Ever since Peyton Manning signed in Denver, everyone has been assuming that Tim Tebow would end up in Jacksonville. The Jaguars don't have a quarterback of the future (sorry Blaine Gabbert), they can't sell tickets, and Tebow is a legend in the region thanks to his college years. It just makes so much sense. So yesterday when the Twitter account of one of the most trusted voices in NFL coverage seemed to be confirming what everyone already thought was common sense, people embraced it. This was the natural narrative overtaking the temporary distraction that the Jets had orchestrated. People wanted to believe it was true. So they retweeted it without looking too closely at the "m."

4. Enjoy Your Handiwork

5. Take Your Bow

You've earned it.