Oct 12, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty (2) reacts after the game against the Tennessee Titans at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Over the past few months, there has been a rise in Facebook prioritizing patently false AI-generated captions in its algorithm. And the sports world has been a major target of that campaign.

We saw as a series of unusual (and false) posts went viral that claimed athletes were donating to Charlie Kirk's family after the right-wing activist's murder. There was also a post about a nonexistent Simone Biles blog following Kirk's death.

Now, it seems that Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty is the focus of a feel-good story about a $98,000 donation to save a struggling restaurant. Except that story had no basis in reality. It went viral to the point that Jeanty himself had to refute the post.

He told reporters of the viral Facebook post:

“That’s not accurate. A lot of fake news out there ... “I do give back but even then I’m working on starting a foundation. I think giving back is important, for sure.”

Until Facebook actually cares enough to stop amplifying these ridiculously fake stories, athletes are going to keep having to answer for them.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Did Ashton Jeanty really pay $98K to save a struggling restaurant?

Reporting by Andrew Joseph, For The Win / For The Win

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