Did Jalen Hurts, Travis Kelce, Nick Bosa, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, Malik Nabers, Jordan Love, and other NFL stars each donate $300,000 to Charlie Kirk's family? No, that's not true: Facebook posts claiming that these American football players reacted to the killing of Kirk on September 10, 2025, with big donations and statements of support are generated by AI tools. Websites and Facebook pages promoting these fake stories are targeting an American audience, but published from Vietnam.
The claims originated on a series of articles on fake websites, including this article (archived here) published on feji.io on September 11, 2025, under the title "Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Honors Charlie Kirk With $300,000 Donation to Family". It opened:
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has made a heartfelt $300,000 donation to support Charlie Kirk's wife, Erika, and their two young daughters.
The donation has been split into two parts:
$100,000 for murals and floral tributes across Philadelphia and Charlotte, honoring Kirk's life and legacy.
$200,000 for a trust fund to secure the daughters' long-term stability.
This is what the article looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: screenshot of fanhub.feji.io by Lead Stories)
The article continued:
In a statement, Hurts said: "This isn't about politics. It's about standing with a family when they feel most alone. My hope is that Erika and her girls know they are surrounded by love and support, even in tragedy."
The context makes it even more powerful. Only yesterday, Hurts also donated to Honoring Iryna Zarutska, adding another layer of compassion to his actions. Two back-to-back donations highlight Hurts' belief that leadership means showing up for families when they need it most.
NFL teams are expected to hold moments of silence this weekend in Kirk's memory, with discussions underway for a legacy fund to ensure his daughters' future.
As one Eagles teammate privately remarked: "We always talk about brotherhood in this locker room. Jalen just showed the world that brotherhood doesn't stop when the game ends."
Lead Stories was immediately suspicious about the authenticity of this article since it was almost identical to articles involving Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs, Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers, Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills, Aaron Rodgers of the Pittsburg Steelers, Malik Nabers of the New York Giants, and Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers. An identical quote was attributed to each of the NFL players.
We asked an AI tool to tell us if this story was made by AI. Claude.ai reviewed the full text and delivered an analysis titled: "Red Flags Indicating Fabrication"
These red flags include:
- No Verifiable Sources: The article provides no details about when, where, or how this supposed donation was announced. Legitimate sports news would include specific press conferences, team statements, or verified social media posts.
- Anonymous Sources: The "Eagles teammate" quote is completely unattributed, which is a common tactic in fake stories to avoid accountability.
- Manufactured Quotes: The direct quotes attributed to Jalen Hurts use overly sentimental language that doesn't match typical athlete statement patterns. Real athlete statements are usually more measured and go through PR review.
- Suspicious Financial Details: The very specific breakdown ($100,000 for murals, $200,000 for trust fund) seems designed to add false credibility but lacks any verification or source attribution.
- Missing Context: The article references "Only yesterday, Hurts also donated to Honoring Iryna Zarutska" without explanation, which appears to be another fabricated story used to build false credibility.
- No Media Coverage: A $300,000 donation from a high-profile NFL quarterback would be extensively covered by legitimate sports media outlets like ESPN, NFL Network, or Philadelphia sports reporters. No such coverage exists.
- Vague Future Claims: References to "NFL teams" holding moments of silence and "discussions underway for a legacy fund" are unverifiable predictions that add dramatic weight without substance.
The story follows "the classic pattern emotional manipulation, manufactured quotes, specific but unverifiable details, and no legitimate media corroboration. It appears designed to exploit tragedy for social media engagement rather than report actual news." the AI analysis said.
These articles are the product of the same Vietnam-based network that produced a series of fake articles Lead Stories debunked on September 9, 2025, in a fact check titled "'Phillies Karen' Has NOT Been Banned From Stadiums, Elton John And Stevie Nicks Concerts, Or Pam Bondi Events."
Lead Stories has found and debunked (archived here) many "AI slop" articles published on websites run in Southeast Asia, mostly in Vietnam. The website domain feji.io, which hosts this article, includes an acknowledgement in its "terms of service" page (archived here) that it is published from Vietnam. We have identified at least a dozen websites based in Vietnam that have published fake articles generated by AI.
These articles were all promoted by Facebook pages that targeted fans of specific NFL teams. Each Facebook post features a photo of a player that was taken from elsewhere online. The purported quotes from each player are all the same, word for word:
"WE PLAY THIS GAME FOR OUR FAMILIES. AND HE DID HIS WORK NOT ONLY FOR HIS OWN FAMILY, BUT FOR THIS COUNTRY. I DON'T CARE WHO HE SUPPORTED POLITICALLY -- WHAT HE DID CAME FROM A PLACE OF WANTING UNITY AND STRENGTH FOR ALL OF US."
(Source: screenshots of Facebook by Lead Stories)
Each of these Facebook pages also have in common that they are administered from Vietnam, based on Meta transparency data.
(Source: screenshots of Facebook by Lead Stories)
Facebook users can easily identify these type of accounts by accessing the transparency data.
(Source: screenshots of Facebook by Lead Stories)
This is what the Jalen Hurts' post (archived here) looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: screenshots of Facebook by Lead Stories)
