A headline shared on Facebook claims Planet Fitness has purportedly hired transgender swimmer Lia Thomas as a paid spokesperson.

Verdict: False

The claim is false and originally stems from a recent article published on the satire website “The Dunning-Kruger Times.”

Fact Check:

Planet Fitness’ stocks have decreased from a “monthly high” of $66.92 to $56.46 after the company canceled an Alaskan woman’s gym membership, according to the New York Post. Patricia Silva’s membership was purportedly canceled after she took a photograph of a transgender woman shaving in the woman’s locker room at the gym, Fox News reported.

“Planet Fitness Doubles Down On Its Bad Ideas, Hires Lia Thomas as a Paid Spokesperson,” the purported headline reads, including a photo of Thomas and an exterior shot of the well-known fitness chain.

The claim is false and originally stems from a recent article published on the satire website “The Dunning-Kruger Times.” According to the site’s “About Us” page, it is a “subsidiary of the ‘America’s Last Line of Defense’ network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery.” The same article claims the well-known fitness chain purportedly hired Thomas following a “disastrous call to expel a member for exposing heinous crimes in one of the company’s restrooms,” quoting Joe Barron, who it claims is Planet Fitness’ Club Operations Manager.

Check Your Fact performed a keyword search using the terms “Planet Fitness” and “Joe Barron” but did not retrieve any credible results. Likewise, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to support the claim that the well-known fitness chain had purportedly hired Thomas as a paid spokesperson. In fact, the opposite is true. Reuters debunked the claim via a Mar. 29 article. (RELATED: No, Mitch McConnell’s Sister-In-Law Was Not CEO Of Shipping Company That Hit Baltimore Bridge)

Additionally, Planet Fitness has neither issued a press release nor a statement shared via any of its verified social media accounts commenting on the satirical claim.

Check Your Fact has contacted Planet Fitness for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.