AI-Generated Images Spread False Hoaxes About Phil Foden's Children
A Facebook account spread AI-generated images accompanying false claims that Manchester City footballer Phil Foden's young children had died or been diagnosed with cancer. The hoax remained visible on multiple platforms, prompting Foden's family to hire legal specialists to remove the content.
What happened
A Facebook account titled 'Man City Fan Lover' posted false stories about Manchester City footballer Phil Foden's children, claiming his four-year-old daughter True had been diagnosed with cancer and his six-year-old son Ronnie had died. Each post was accompanied by AI-generated images of Foden and his wife crying, and included links to unknown websites.
The account, based in Los Angeles with over 93,000 followers, has posted similar false stories about other public figures including Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski and Foden's teammate Bernardo Silva. At least one TikTok video spreading these false stories remained online with over 200,000 views and over 20,000 likes.
Reported impact
Foden's fiancée Rebecca Cooke described the false stories as 'sickening' and 'very disturbing', stating the family was 'absolutely fine' and appealing to users to report the fake posts and pages.
Foden and his family enlisted legal specialists to take down the content appearing on Facebook and TikTok platforms.
Index analysis
Facebook's monetisation programme allows users to earn money through interactions and shares even if the content is AI-generated, with an October 2025 study indicating that over 40 per cent of posts on the platform are likely AI-generated.
Governance controls
At the time of reporting, the 'Man City Fan Lover' Facebook account remained active and at least one TikTok video containing the false stories had not been removed despite having over 200,000 views.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.