he news that WNBA star Brittney Griner will 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.

Claims on social media suggest that US’ Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) basketball player Brittney Griner, who was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison for drug smuggling, was ordered to take a DNA test…

The Claim

Several 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.