WHAT WAS CLAIMED
A former Western Bulldogs player is fighting for life after being shot in a bar fight.
OUR VERDICT
False. The shooting has been made up and an image of the scuffle is AI-generated.
AAP FACTCHECK - A former Western Bulldogs AFL player is not fighting for life after being shot in a bar, despite claims on social media.
It is one of numerous falsehoods published by Facebook pages called Western Glory and Victorian Footy Faithful.
The supposed AFL club fan pages appear to be operated from overseas, with Facebook's transparency details revealing Western Glory is actually run by users in Vietnam and Bangladesh.
Both pages are pushing out disinformation on a daily basis.
They are two 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 where more false claims are made.
A post by the Western Glory page claims an unnamed former Bulldogs star was shot in a bar brawl.
There are no reports of any such incident, however, and the image of the supposed fight is AI-generated.
The logo of Google's AI chatbot, Gemini, is visible in the bottom-right corner, indicating that the image is synthetic.
The same fake image has been shared with similar claims about other sports stars, including a former Barcelona soccer player and tennis pro Lorenzo Musetti.
Another post claims Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli has donated $500,000 to support homeless initiatives.
"I've seen how quickly life can change for people doing it tough, especially young people who feel like they've lost direction or stability," he is reported to have said at a press conference.
This claim is false. There has been no such media conference and Bontempelli has made no public declarations about this supposed donation.
The post also shares photos from overseas, depicting a homeless housing project in Los Angeles and a homeless person sleeping on a street in Portland, US.
The Victorian Footy Faithful page has posted numerous other AI-generated images. Even the page's profile picture features an AI hallucination.
Rather than showing a bulldog wearing the AFL team's colours, the bulldog is depicted wearing the jersey of the NRL's Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
Another post claims Bontempelli refused to participate in the "AFL LGBT Pride Night".
"The field should focus on performance, team spirit, and winning—not politics or social movements," it quotes the midfielder as saying.
This claim is false. The AFL does not have an LGBT Pride Night and Bontempelli has never made any statements against one.
Another post claims the Bulldogs captain has officially announced he will not wear the "L.G.B.T rainbow symbol to promote himself in Australia".
"I have to focus on what's truly important – contributing my talent – and absolutely not on political or social movements!" he is alleged to have said.
This is also fake. The post claims Bontempelli's stance resulted in "nationwide uproar", but there have been no reports that he has made such a statement.
Another post on the page claims that Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge announced his resignation after his side's 62-74 defeat to Carlton, but this is also false.
The team lost by that margin to Carlton in round 10 this year, days before this post appeared.
However, Beveridge did not announce his resignation during the post-match press conference and remains in charge at the Western Bulldogs at the time of writing.
Another post claims fans are "boycotting" Beveridge after he made a comment that LGBTQ themes don't belong in children's cartoons.
This is false. Beveridge has made no such comment.
AAP FactCheck has previously debunked false claims that Hawthorn Hawks player Jai Newcombe made the same statement.
The same quote has also been attributed to various other athletes and celebrities on similar-looking disinformation Facebook pages.
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