Fact Check: Peyton Manning Did NOT Honor Ray The Gatekeeper With A Jersey And Standing Ovation -- It's A Clickbait Story With AI Image

AI Image

Did Peyton Manning see to it that Ray, who had been a stadium gatekeeper for 30 years, would get tickets to the game - and also honor him with a custom Colts Jersey and a standing ovation? No, that's not true: This is a fictional story paired with an AI image intended to gather engagement for social media posts and clicks to a website. Several engagement farming Facebook pages use made up stories about the former Colts quarterback's good deeds.

This Peyton Manning story appears in a post (archived here) published on Facebook by the page Victoria Marion on Aug. 1, 2025. The post opened:

He Worked the Parking Lot for 30 Years -- Until Peyton Manning Gave Him a Standing Ovation

Because Every Game Day Starts With Someone Opening the Gate

His name was Ray.

He wore an orange vest.

Held a flashlight. Smiled at every car.

For 30 years, Ray waved in Colts fans from the same parking lot on South Capitol Avenue

This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:

(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot of Victoria Marion post on Facebook.)

The sentimental story ends with a link to a website, goodolddaysstories.blogspot.com:

Ray whispered:

"I never thought anyone noticed."

To which Peyton replied:

"We always noticed. We just couldn't say it loud enough... until now."

Today, that parking lot has a sign:

"Ray's Row - Where Game Day Begins."

Because some people don't need a seat...

to belong in the stadium.

Read More Here: https://goodolddaysstories.blogspot.com/

The image shows Manning holding up a Colts jersey with the number 30 and the name "Ray Gatekeeper". Ray seems to be wiping a tear from his eye. The stadium jumbotron shows people who appear to be lining a road holding up signs which say, "Thank you Ray!". But this scene is not real. The AI generated content detection tool at Hive Moderation determined with 84.2% confidence (pictured below) that the image was AI generated.

(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot of Victoria Marion post on Facebook with screenshot of Hive Extension rating of likelihood of AI content.)

This story was not posted from the Facebook account of a grandmotherly woman, Victoria Marion. It was posted by a Facebook page, and the transparency report of Victoria Marion shows that at least three people are managing the account from the United States and The United Arab Emirates. The page managers changed the name several times since May 7, 2023 (pictured below). It was formerly named, "Movie For you", "Life with Babu", and "To See Cutest Cats and Dogs Please".

(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot of Victoria Marion page transparency on Facebook.)

The thumbnails in the Victoria Marion photo album give a quick overview of the activity of the page. About 575 AI generated photos going back to May 18, 2025. They feature the likeness of Peyton Manning doing good deeds and each image was posted with a made up story. The photos posted before May 18 feature a variety of Hollywood celebrities.

A similar Manning story was posted in the Facebook group Echoes of Yesteryears on May 27, 2025. This post (pictured below) had the same formulaic narrative, but this time was about a stadium security guard named Miguel. The post contains an AI generated photo and a link to the website goodolddaysstories.blogspot.com. It begins:

"He Waited 30 Years for a Jersey -- Peyton Manning Gave Him One with His Own Name on It"

Miguel was the stadium security guard.

He stood at Gate D, rain or shine, snow or swelter.

Always the first to arrive, always the last to leave.

He never asked for pictures.

Never chased autographs.

Just tipped his cap and said, "Have a good game, sir."

For 30 years, he did his job with pride -- scanning tickets, helping fans, calming drunks, smiling at kids.

(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot of Amelia Ransford post on Facebook with screenshot of Hive Extension rating of likelihood of AI content.)