Fake Nathan Cleary image on advertising flyer sparks legal storm: ‘It's a disgrace'
The flyer used a crude digitally altered image of Cleary with his arm around a woman. Adding to the controversy, the woman is obviously not his high-profile partner, Matildas superstar Mary Fowler.
The words on the flyer — that is seemingly selling NRL car bonnet covers — said, 'Way to go Blues! I knew this one had rizz! I'm taking this one home!'
It then noted: 'This flyer was printed a week ago.'
With an incorrect sponsor on Cleary's jersey, the ad would appear to be AI generated.
And Cleary's lawyers are not happy, saying police could get involved.
'It's a disgrace what they're doing with these guys' brands,' lawyer Daniel McGirr told the SMH.
'There's a couple of avenues that will go down the track of. One of them is civilly, but they are also obtaining a benefit by deception, which is criminal. We don't know who is affiliated with these brands – or whether they are real brands to start with.
'They might be scams. Say the punter on the street thinks, 'Nathan Cleary is aligned to this, I trust him and he's my hero.' They click on it, and they could be taken to some dark web or something like that and get scammed. It's a criminal matter. With AI, this will get worse and worse until something is done about it.'
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