A wave of fake LGBTQ+ news is spreading across Facebook, falsely claiming that celebrities and athletes have made anti-queer statements. Posts have accused Dallas Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb of refusing to wear a rainbow armband, Olympian Mollie O’Callaghan of boycotting events with trans swimmer Lia Thomas, and singer Sam Smith of criticizing conjoined twins’ pronouns. None of these claims are true.
Sports editor David Evans called the Lamb story “fabricated,” while Swimming Australia confirmed comments attributed to O’Callaghan were “fake.” Smith, who uses they/them pronouns, has long been the target of hoaxes about their identity. Experts warn that such disinformation is designed to inflame division. Dr. Dani Madrid-Morales of the University of Sheffield said that division is a very common approach, adding that some spread lies for political influence, others for profit.
As social media moderation weakens and AI blurs fact and fiction, users are urged to verify before sharing — because in this digital age, fake news travels faster than truth.
