Global sports organizations, teams and athletes are increasingly facing reputational and financial risks from a surge in artificial intelligence-generated misinformation known as “AI slop,” according to a new study by AI risk management platform Alethea.
The report highlights how convincing fake content—ranging from fabricated quotes to nonexistent scandals—has spread rapidly across social media, often fooling fans and distorting public discourse. Retired NFL star Jason Kelce, for example, never criticized singer Bad Bunny’s hypothetical Super Bowl halftime show, while George Kittle never made political comments attributed to him online. Despite this, thousands of users believed the claims.
“Teams and players are suddenly being accused of things that are completely fabricated,” said Lisa Kaplan, founder and chief executive of Alethea. She warned that advances in AI have made fake content harder to detect and far easier to produce at scale. “Content now looks real and is produced at a volume that makes it hard for the average person to determine if it’s authentic,” she said.
Kaplan noted that AI-driven misinformation is also disrupting the sports media business model. Networks of fake accounts drive traffic to dubious websites, skew advertising metrics, and in some cases create conditions that could be exploited to manipulate betting markets. Some links associated with such content have been flagged for phishing or malicious redirects, posing direct fraud risks to fans.
C. Shawn Eib, Alethea’s head of investigations, said many operations rely on contradictory or exaggerated claims—such as falsely announcing that former Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh had been hired by multiple teams simultaneously. “When a single figure appears linked with several teams at once, it becomes clear an AI system is behind the content,” he said.
The misinformation typically follows a formula: fake game updates, invented celebrity feuds, manufactured scandals and politicized quotes falsely attributed to star athletes. Both Kelce and Kittle publicly denied viral posts quoting them, underscoring how quickly such narratives can spread.
Alethea said the issue extends far beyond American football. Similar AI-driven misinformation campaigns have targeted leagues including the NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, Formula 1, IndyCar and professional tennis.
Beyond financial and reputational damage, Kaplan said sport’s cultural influence makes it attractive for broader influence operations. She cited the exploitation of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s 2018 kneeling protest as an example. A 2019 report by the Senate Intelligence Committee found Russian trolls amplified the debate as part of efforts to inflame social divisions following the 2016 U.S. election.
“Sport is a powerful cultural touchstone,” Kaplan said. “That makes it a prime target for manipulation.” Alethea urged teams and leagues to actively monitor digital risks, coordinate across communications, legal and security teams, and educate fans to verify information through official channels.
The firm’s advice to fans is simple: verify breaking news through official team sources, avoid clicking suspicious links, and remember that outrage is often the product—not the byproduct—of AI-driven misinformation.
