From what I heard, one person leaked stories about a deal being very likely in order to put pressure on Donald. The deal was nowhere near as far along as suggested but the person was desperate for Donald to sell, so putting the story out there meant that Donald would worry about the reaction if it didn't happen which might force his hand and make him more likely to do a deal. Reading between the lines I assumed this meant it wasn't just spread to people who would mention it on message boards but that person was also the likely source for Barnes, which got it out amongst the whole fan base. Whether it's true or not I wouldn't know, but that was apparently the reasoning behind it, at least initially.