NRL reports ‘harmful’ AI-generated Facebook pages to Meta after fake news spreeFake Facebook pages posing as NRL fan hubs have churned out offensive AI-generated posts about players’ private lives – and thousands of followers appear to believe they are real.Eliza Barr@ElizaJBarr2 min readJune 14, 2026 - 6:06PMJack Wighton of the Rabbitohs is among multiple Rabbitohs and Tigers players targeted by fake news posts on supposed fan pages for both clubs.NSWDon't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.The NRL is cracking down on Facebook pages teeming with outrageous and offensive AI-generated posts about its players, which are attracting thousands of followers under the guise of being fan hubs.The Daily Telegraph has discovered pages purportedly set up for fans of the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Wests Tigers are churning out artificial intelligence-generated fake news at an almost industrial scale to more than 11,000 followers.Alarmingly, several fans commenting on the posts seem unaware they are fake, while other posts which range from ludicrous to outright offensive are attracting hundreds and thousands of likes and comments despite being entirely fabricated.In the wake of former Sydney Roosters enforcer Kane Evans’ brave interview last week in which he came out as gay, both pages have churned out multiple fake posts falsely attributing the news about his sexuality to entirely different players.Posts on both pages also falsely claim different players have discovered their children are not biologically their own, while the pages are also in the ghoulish habit of writing “in memoriam” posts for people they identify as fans, employees and even mascots at both clubs.Coaches are also not immune, with Benji Marshall also targeted in the fabricated posts.In one bizarre clickbait-style fake news post that claimed Souths coach Wayne Bennett had issued an “urgent statement that has shocked millions”, one of more than a dozen commenters, apparently convinced by it, blamed this masthead’s publisher for producing “gutter journalism”.A flurry of separate posts also falsely claimed Bennett had accused the Manly Sea Eagles of paying a group of referees hundreds of thousands of dollars to gain an advantage after a recent match.A series of posts attributed multiple false quotes and acts to legendary Souths coach Wayne Bennett.An NRL spokesman said the organisation was aware of a number of fake accounts impersonating NRL clubs and sharing “false, harmful content, including fabricated news”.“The NRL has reported these accounts and offending posts to Meta,” the spokesman said.“We have been and will continue to work closely with Meta to have them removed.”Inquiries reveal the owners of the website to which the Rabbitohs posts link have concealed by a privacy service, with its company registered in Reykjavik in Iceland.A similar service based in North Carolina in the U.S. has been used to conceal the owners of the website to which posts about the Tigers link.Tigers player Adam Doueihi has also been targeted in recent days.The fake Tigers Facebook page also absurdly lists a made-up contact address in the American state of Wisconsin, and a phone number with an area code for western Pennsylvania.In a recent guide to critical thinking about fake news, the office of Australia’s e-Safety Commissioner warned against the proliferation of “AI slop”.“AI-driven apps and tools can make information seem real and trustworthy even when it’s ‘AI slop’ (low-quality AI-generated content which often contains errors),” the guide stated.“Thinking critically helps you notice when a video or voice clip might be AI-generated, altered or a deepfake, (and) check if trusted websites support AI ‘facts’ or claims provided by chatbots or other AI tools.”More Coverage$6m sale secures final CBD office for Hemmes’ new mega-precinctJonathan Chancellor, Tom McGann, Jonathon Moran, Nathanael Cooper, Eliza Barr, James O’Dohherty and Joshua HanrahanHemsworth’s artist mate accused of assaulting partnerGreg Stolz, Sam Stolz and Eliza Barr More related storiesNSW‘Strength in unity’: Moving return to Bondi attack scene six months onLoved ones of the 15 innocent people killed in December’s Bondi terror attack have joined gunshot survivors and rescuers at the site of the rampage, six months on. Watch the video.Read morePolice & CourtsMan found dead after Sydney garage fireFirefighters have located a body inside a Bankstown garage after extinguishing a blaze, which police do not believe to be suspicious.Read more