Fact Check: Claims of Cheerleaders’ ‘Revealing’ Photoshoot Are False, Originate from Vietnamese Spam

In a widespread social media deception campaign, dozens of fake Facebook pages are spreading false claims that cheerleaders from 38 different sports teams have released “fully revealing” photoshoots that garnered millions of views. An investigation reveals these fabricated stories are part of a sophisticated spam operation based in Vietnam using artificial intelligence to create both the images and articles.

The scheme follows a consistent pattern across numerous posts. One example, shared by “The Durham Hardwood” Facebook page on April 23, claimed: “Duke Blue Devils basketball cheerleaders have shocked social media after posting a bold ‘fully revealing’ photoshoot that has already reached 7 million views on X.” The post featured what appears to be a cheerleader in Duke apparel, but the image was actually created by AI, according to analysis by the Hive Moderation AI content detection tool, which identified it as synthetic with 99.9% certainty.

A broader search across Facebook uncovered identical claims made about cheerleading teams from major sports organizations including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and NCAA, as well as several rugby teams from Australia and New Zealand. In total, cheerleaders from 38 different teams have been falsely depicted in this manner.

The Facebook pages posting this content present themselves as fan sites for specific sports teams or universities, but investigation into their page management information reveals they are operated from Vietnam. For instance, “The Durham Hardwood,” which poses as a Duke University sports page, openly lists Vietnam as its management location in its about section.

These posts typically link to articles on suspicious websites with unusual character substitutions in headlines, such as “Dυke Cheerleaders’ Viral Photoshoot Sparks Debate oп Image, Braпdiпg, aпd Social Media Cυltυre.” The articles appear designed to drive traffic to ad-heavy websites rather than share legitimate news.

This campaign represents part of a larger pattern of misinformation that fact-checkers have traced to Vietnam. Digital media watchdogs have identified a significant operation in Southeast Asia responsible for generating false stories using artificial intelligence. The approach has become so prevalent that fact-checking organization Lead Stories has published a guide titled “Prebunk: Beware Of Fake Fan Pages Spreading False Stories About Your Favorite Celebrities — How To Spot ‘Viet Spam.'”

The operation targets North American and European Facebook users specifically, creating content that might appeal to sports fans while using AI-generated images to attract attention. The posts follow nearly identical templates, changing only the team names and generating new images to match each team’s colors and branding.

Social media experts warn that such misinformation campaigns have multiple harmful effects. They can damage the reputation of legitimate sports teams and their cheerleaders, mislead fans, and ultimately erode trust in online information. Additionally, they divert web traffic to potentially malicious sites that may contain advertising scams or malware.

Facebook users are advised to verify information before sharing and to check page management locations when encountering sensational claims. Examining unusual spelling in linked articles and scrutinizing images for AI-generated artifacts can also help identify false content before it spreads further.

As AI-generated content becomes increasingly sophisticated, this type of cross-border misinformation campaign demonstrates the evolving challenges in maintaining information integrity online, particularly when profit motives drive coordinated deception across multiple platforms.