Fact Check: Was Brittney Griner Ordered by Russia To Take DNA Gender Test?
newsweek.comwill serve nine years in Russia prison for drug smuggling has been all the more unsettling for the lack of information surrounding her detention.Griner, who was caught with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil at a Moscow airport, was sentenced in August 2022, having already served six months in a women's prison outside of Moscow.A potential prisoner swap could see Griner exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
President Joe Biden has accused Russia of "wrongfully detaining Brittney," calling the decision "unacceptable."As the U.S. continues to review its options for her release, Newsweek has assessed some of the misinformation swirling around this story.The ClaimSeveral tweets sent in August, 2022 claimed that Brittney Griner has been "ordered by officials" to take a DNA test to determine whether she would serve her sentence in a male or female prison.pic.twitter.com/A4KLormy0MRussia has ordered a DNA test to determine weather Griner is Male or FemaleIs this for real?
pic.twitter.com/mpzfk4BI6RThe FactsWhether a mean-spirited joke or deliberate falsehoods, these claims appear to have no factual basis behind them.
Griner has been targeted with similar claims throughout her WNBA careerThe basketball star addressed the issue directly in 2015, as part of a photoshoot for ESPN Magazine's "Body Issue".
