WHAT WAS CLAIMED
A Facebook page features news about the South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL club and its players.
OUR VERDICT
False. The news stories are fake.
AAP FACTCHECK - A foreign-run Facebook page is spreading disinformation about the NRL's South Sydney Rabbitohs, including falsehoods about a terminally ill former player.
The Bunny Spirit Rugby page posts multiple times per day and is run by users in Vietnam, according to Facebook's page transparency details.
Its fabricated posts direct users to external websites strewn with ads and additional false content.
Many posts feature former Rabbitohs player Nathan Merritt, who recently announced he has stage four cancer and only 12 months to live.
Numerous posts have spread falsehoods about Merritt.
"The entire family mourns as they announce the passing of South Sydney Rabbitohs legend Nathan Merritt, who passed away at the age of 42," one post reads.
Another post claims his wife had one "final sunset for her husband" and "canceled everything just to hold his hand one last time".
"He Passed Away in Her Arms," it reads.
These posts have thousands of reactions and have seemingly deceived many.
One user said: "I'm so sorry love and hugs to the Merritt Family" while another commented "rest in internal peace champ".
The Redfern All Blacks, for whom Merritt and several members of his family played, issued a statement on Instagram, dismissing the false claims.
"We wish to clarify that Nathan has not passed away. These reports are completely false and deeply distressing for the family," it reads.
Bunny Spirit Rugby is not the only page targeting Rabbitohs supporters. Another, called Redfern Spirit Circle, has also posted falsehoods about Merritt.
Bunny Spirit Rugby has also posted falsehoods about the deaths of players not connected to the club.
One post features condolences for the death of Caden Nowicki, who it claims was a potential recruit for the team next season.
The image of Nowicki used in the post features indications it has been manipulated using artificial intelligence (AI), including a watermark for Gemini, Google's AI generator.
Nowicki is also holding a Steeden football while wearing what appear to be ice hockey gloves.
A Google search reveals Nowicki was in fact a high school American football player who died in a sledging crash in January.
A news story in the U.S. Sun features the original image of Nowicki, which has been manipulated
Another post features condolences for the death of a supposed 25-year-old Rabbitohs player called Jack Pugh.
A reverse image search reveals Pugh was also an American football player for the Wisconsin Badgers, who died recently. He has no connection with the Rabbitohs.
AAP FactCheck debunked another page falsely using Pugh's name to target the Sydney Roosters NRL team.
Another post claims Rabbitohs player Alex Johnston gave a seven-year-old girl battling terminal brain cancer "her dying wish".
This story is also fake. The image of the supposed seven-year-old is actually Branson Blevins, an 11-year-old boy from Alabama.
AAP FactCheck previously debunked the same post on disinformation pages targeting the Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panthers.
Another post claims a Rabbitohs healthcare worker died, but includes an image with clear evidence of AI-generation, including a Google Gemini watermark in the bottom-right corner.
AAP FactCheck has identified several apparent fan pages posing as NRL club supporter groups that spread false claims about clubs, players, staff and fans.
As well as the Rabbitohs, there are pages targeting supporters of the Penrith Panthers, Sydney Roosters, Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos.
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