Fact or fake? AI scammers use Husker names to cash in on clicks

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Fake Facebook profiles have been running rampant, making false claims about Husker football players and coaches.

The scammers have posted about quarterback Dylan Raiola, head coach Matt Rhule, and others on the team, claiming they are doing something heartwarming.

One such post said Raiola was opening a food pantry.

“Matt Rhule and Dylan Raiola are the two biggest ones I’ve seen a lot of,” said University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor Barney McCoy. “I even called the athletic department at one point, and I said, ‘What are you doing about this?’ But I’m not sure there’s much that they can do.”

Some of the posts have garnered a lot of attention, with thousands of reactions.

“It really does confuse not just the narrative, but it confuses the people who believe it’s true,” McCoy said.

McCoy, who teaches media literacy classes at UNL, said these posts are becoming increasingly realistic thanks to artificial intelligence.

And there are scammers now who use celebrities to prey on people.

“If you’re that celebrity, you’re going to feel like you’re being misrepresented, which you clearly are,” he said.

Some of these profiles have thousands of followers.

“They are being used by these websites that are trying to build traffic by getting clicks so they can sell advertising and make money,” McCoy said.

Sometimes, McCoy said he even has a hard time determining what’s real and what’s not.

But most often, the posts will have fake links.

You should double-check who is posting and verify the website URL. It will often be off by one or two letters from a real news source.

McCoy said his advice is to be skeptical and to check other reliable news sources to see if they are reporting the same stories.