Phil Foden legal action over online hoax
England and Manchester City star Phil Foden has engaged legal representation after a series of malicious online hoaxes falsely claimed that his six-year-old son had died and that his four-year-old daughter was battling cancer.
The fabrications, which circulated across multiple social media platforms, included AI-generated images depicting Foden and his partner appearing upset and distressed. One post claimed a daughter named True had cancer, while another alleged their son Ronnie had died.
Foden’s partner, Rebecca Cooke, addressed the hoaxes publicly on Instagram. She described the fabricated stories as “completely false and very disturbing”, emphasised that the family are healthy and thanked supporters for their concern. She also encouraged people to report any posts or accounts spreading the false claims.
According to reports, the hoaxes were coordinated by an online account named “Man City Fan Lover”, based in Los Angeles, which posted the false stories accompanied by AI-generated visuals. The false claims quickly gained traction, causing Foden’s name to trend on both social media and search engines.
Foden and his legal team are reportedly working to remove the misleading content across platforms and are exploring possible civil action for defamation and harassment against the perpetrators.
