WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Geelong Cats players are calling for Pride Month to be replaced with ceremonies honouring veterans.
OUR VERDICT
False. The players have said no such thing.
AAP FACTCHECK - Geelong Cats players are not calling for an LGBTQI Pride Month to be replaced with ceremonies to honour Australian veterans, despite claims on social media.
This claim is just one of numerous falsehoods published by a Facebook page called Cats Territory.
The supposed AFL club fan page is operated by users in Vietnam, according to Facebook's transparency details, and pushes out disinformation on a daily basis.
It is one of several pages AAP FactCheck has identified that target supporters of various AFL and NRL clubs with fabricated stories and AI-generated images.
The pages' posts urge readers to click on a link to an ad-laden website in the comments that features more false information.
The supposed call to replace Pride Month - a celebration of the LGBTQI community held in June each year - has been featured in two separate posts about Geelong players Bailey Smith and Tyson Stengle.
The posts feature an identical caption, which claims the pair have called for its replacement with "special ceremonies honoring Australian veterans".
They add that "this shocking proposal is sure to spark a strong wave of public opposition and deeply divide the community".
Neither Smith nor Stengle has made any such statement.
Another post claims Smith and teammate Patrick Dangerfield both received a fine of up to $300,000 and a one-match suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct, verbal abuse and taunting their head coach Chris Scott following the team's loss to Port Adelaide.
This claim is false. There are no reports of any such incident. Furthermore, the AFL releases reports of all fines issued, and this incident does not appear.
Another post claims Dangerfield was involved in a spat with commentator Bruce McAvaney after the latter criticised the Cats players.
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, OLD MAN—WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" the post claims Dangerfield told the broadcaster.
Despite the spat supposedly dividing the AFL community, there's no evidence it ever happened.
A further post claims that Smith brought "millions of fans to tears" when he met with an elderly ball boy on the sidelines after a match.
However, the image of the supposed meeting features the Google Gemini logo in the bottom right corner, indicating it was made using the company's AI generator.
It also features several AI hallucinations, including an NRL logo on a towel - rather than the AFL's logo - rugby league balls and a scoreboard showing two NRL teams and their logos.
The supposed ball boy also appears to be in possession of tennis balls.
Another post claims Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan accused Geelong's vice-captain Tom Stewart of using an unspecified high-tech device during a match between the two teams.
The post alleges this resulted in an investigation from AFL commission chairman Richard Goyder.
The claim is false. Goyder is no longer chairman after resigning in March and there's no evidence of this investigation.
The image used of Fagan is from a press conference after the Lions' loss to Melbourne in June 2022. Fagan has made no accusations about Stewart.
Another post alleges Geelong's coach has revealed an unspecified health condition, however this is false.
The post incorrectly names Craig Bellamy as the head coach. Bellamy actually coaches the Melbourne Storm NRL team and has been diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder.
The main image appears to show Geelong's coach Chris Scott in hospital, but it is AI-generated.
A Google Image search reveals it has a hidden digital watermark showing it was made with Google's AI.
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