WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Sports stars, celebrities and politicians visited a child with cancer in hospital.
OUR VERDICT
False. The stories are fake.
AAP FACTCHECK - Disinformation pages are using photos of a dying child to push fake news stories about Australian sports stars and politicians in an apparent bid to make money.
The Facebook posts are fake and use photos of an American boy who died of cancer in 2025 to drive traffic to ad-heavy websites.
One version of the scam, posted by the 'Storm City Rugby Fans' page, claims Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy visited a seven-year-old girl with terminal brain cancer in hospital.
"A 7-year-old girl battling terminal brain cancer had one last wish. Not Disneyland. Not princesses. Not a miracle. She wished to meet her idol, Melbourne Storm Head Coach Craig Bellamy," the caption reads.
"When he received the message, he didn't send a video or make a phone call.
"He didn't ask for cameras or media coverage. Instead, Craig Bellamy quietly adjusted his schedule, boarded a plane, and walked into a quiet hospital room … Details in comment."
Near-identical posts substitute "Bellamy" for other public figures, such as Newcastle Knights player Kalyn Ponga, Prince William, One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson, rapper Lil Wayne, UK politician Rupert Lowe, US Senator John Fetterman or singer Sir Tom Jones.
A reverse image search shows the photos in the posts show American boy Branson Blevins.
The 11-year-old died from leukaemia in October 2025, WTSP reported.
Some images appear to be generated using artificial intelligence (AI), including one of a person covered in medical tubing that bears the watermark of X's AI tool, Grok.
Some of the fake stories appear on self-described music or sports team fan forums, which Facebook transparency data shows are run from Vietnam, the Philippines and Bangladesh.
The posts direct users to external sites to generate ad revenue, a tactic AAP FactCheck has previously reported in debunks involving the Penrith Panthers, South Sydney Rabbitohs and Melbourne Storm.
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