An article published on Monday in the People’s Daily , the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China, featured the byline of NBA superstar LeBron James – although it featured edited comments offered to the publication and was not an essay written by the athlete.

Multiple headlines in major media outlets in the West described the article as an “op-ed” written by James, who has been extremely complimentary of communist China throughout his career and benefits from lavish financial interests in the country. While he did appear to speak to the People’s Daily during his recently concluded visit to China, among other media outlets, he did not write an op-ed for the publication.

The distinction is notable as Chinese state media arms have not at press time allowed NBA

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