North Queensland Cowboys CEO Michael Luck has condemned the spread of fake AI-generated social media posts targeting club legends and players, calling the content “highly disturbing.”
Fabricated Claims Target Club Icons
A fraudulent Facebook page, Cowboys Fan Hub, falsely claimed that club legend Johnathan Thurston has been diagnosed with cancer. Thurston remains cancer-free. The same page also alleged that Cowboys cheerleaders shared lewd images online.
The Brisbane Broncos faced similar attacks, with a page called River City Broncos Fans posting that player Pat Carrigan’s mother, Carmel, had passed away—a complete fabrication.
Increase in reports Players and Families
Luck confirmed the club received multiple reports about these AI-generated stories from players, past and present, as well as their families.
“We have seen a rise in the number of reports our playing group and their families of posts on social media platforms, which are clearly from fake accounts,” Luck stated. “Some of the posts are highly disturbing in nature, including fabricated stories about our players, past and present, and their partners. It is disappointing we live in a world where people find validation and self-worth by promoting provocative misinformation, in this instance using AI.”
NRL Takes Action Against Fake Accounts
The NRL monitors these fake accounts and collaborates with Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, to shut down the misleading pages.
Past Incidents Highlight Growing Threat
In July last year, NSW Blues halfback Nathan Cleary pursued civil and criminal charges after AI-generated images of him appeared on flyers in Sydney Olympic Park’s P1 carpark following the State of Origin decider. The flyers showed Cleary with his arm around a woman in a NSW jersey, captioned: “Way to go Blues! I knew you had rizz! I’m taking this one home!”
Melbourne Storm hooker Harry Grant has also encountered fake AI images online. Recently, false posts claimed outgoing Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater re-signed with the club on a $55 million deal.
