If you’re scrolling through social media and you see a post about the sudden death of an Eagles cheerleader, it’s probably going to get your attention. It turns out, none of them is real.
Experts say the people behind the fake posts are looking to catch your attention, and if you’re an Eagles fan, this type of phony post could end up in your feed. One Eagles cheerleader spoke to CBS News Philadelphia about this, and she said it was unnerving.
The posts show pictures of women in Eagles cheerleader outfits and usually say, “RIP,” accompanied by a caption. One we found says, “A longtime Eagles cheerleader who served Philadelphia fans for many years has lost her life at age 32 after a heartbreaking family dispute, leaving behind a 3-year-old child.”
None of the posts CBS News Philadelphia found ever mentions the name of the cheerleader.
In a statement, the Eagles called them “false social media posts” and said in part, “These acts are not only harmful to the individuals and organizations they involve but also to those who consume the misinformation.”
Rob D’Ovidio, a professor at Drexel University who specializes in cybersecurity, said the people behind the posts often want you to click on a bad link so they can steal your information.
“By clicking on it and visiting that site, the user is susceptible to the payload, to the malicious software being installed on their machine, which then leaves them vulnerable for a host of security concerns,” he said.
It’s unclear if all the women in these posts are actual Eagles cheerleaders or AI-generated.
After CBS News Philadelphia told Meta, the parent company of Facebook, about these posts, Meta said they investigated and removed the pages behind these posts for violating their policies.
Facebook does allow you to report posts for several reasons. You click the three dots in the top right corner of the post and select “Report post,” and then give the reason, such as false information.