North Queensland Cowboys CEO Michael Luck has condemned the spread of fake AI-generated social media posts targeting club figures, describing the content as “highly disturbing.”

Cowboys Targeted by False Claims

The Cowboys Fan Hub Facebook page falsely announced that club legend Johnathan Thurston has been diagnosed with cancer, though Thurston remains cancer-free. The same page also alleged that Cowboys cheerleaders shared lewd images online.

Luck confirmed receiving multiple reports players and their families about these deceptive posts. “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.

He added, “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.”

Broncos Hit by Similar Hoax

The Brisbane Broncos faced a comparable attack when the “River City Broncos Fans” Facebook page claimed that forward Pat Carrigan’s mother, Carmel, had passed away—a completely false report.

NRL Responds and Past Incidents

NRL officials are aware of these fake accounts and are collaborating with Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to shut down the misleading pages.

This issue echoes previous cases, such as last July when NSW Blues halfback Nathan Cleary’s legal team pursued civil and criminal charges over AI-generated images plastered on cars in Sydney Olympic Park’s P1 carpark after the State of Origin decider. The flyers showed Cleary with a woman and carried the caption: “Way to go Blues! I knew you had rizz! I’m taking this one home!”

Melbourne Storm hooker Harry Grant has also faced fake AI images online, while recent bogus posts claimed outgoing Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater re-signed with the club on a $55 million deal.