Remember when April Fools' Day was once a year?
It was such an innocent time to be alive. Today - well not today, but every other day - if you're engaging with media of any kind it's inevitable you'll come across contrived content with no basis in reality.
Content like this is engineered to make you feel a certain way - emotional. Happy and sad are the same outcome in this game, so either is considered to be a win for the creator. Let's get right to it.
You know who this guy is, right? This post is a week old, which is to say it's not intended to be haha oh that's right it's April 1 you got me content. It's 2026, and this is now garden variety daily engagement bait.
According to the story, Ohio State redshirt sophomore QB Julian Sayin was strolling by an animal shelter in New York when he learned all of the animals inside would be put down.
Facebook comments on the Sayin Shelter story, which may or may not be from actual humans.
That's when the Heisman finalist called an audible, snapped into action and immediately decided to adopt all 39 of the doomed pooches, saving them from euthanasia. It's heartwarming, if you're able to suspend belief and resist the temptation to ask simple, almost child-like questions:
- What was Sayin doing in New York?
- Is he wearing eight gold rings? What in the name of partridges in pear trees is happening here?
- Why are they putting down 39 animals all at once?
- Does any shelter permit a single person to adopt 39 animals?
- How many years has it been since someone wore a turtleneck and blazer in public?
- Those don't look like shelter dogs at all, is this real?
And the answer to the last question is no, it's not real. But feel-good stories feel good and Ohio State fandom is global and well-populated - so put those variables together and you get an alarming number of content farms cloaked in scarlet and gray that pump out a dozen stories like this daily.
Who could possible fall for something like this - reader, as a long-time columnist with the freedom to choose his topics and points of view, I have had stories like this one sent to me with why doesn't Eleven Warriors ever cover stuff like this requests attached. You should write about this, you would do a good job. Thank you, appreciate the kind words.
I'm not going to shame you, and please keep the cards and letters coming - it's a lonely world. I know you're tired of debating how good Ohio State men's basketball should be every year. I accept that you don't want to hear about the Buckeyes' chronic negligence with special teams. I'm sorry. Outside of today, I will not write about Sayin's 39 imaginary rescue dogs.
At 11W, we limit ourselves to topics grounded in reality. Except for today, because it's April Fools' - a serendipitous opportunity to be mildly condescending to the serially gullible. This is not a shame session, it's a public service. Let's all get better at spotting what's fake, because it's only going to get harder every day from now on until the sun swallows our planet.
Take a look at this one and quickly decide if it's real:
Just scan the details. Who can forget when Bruce Thornton, pictured above wearing no.1 in Ohio State's home whites before switching to his customary no.2 jersey as the Buckeyes were playing Texas (also dressed in their home whites) gave a towel to an elderly gentleman who wiped his eyes so hard the Ohio State logo peeled off of his shirt to reveal a Lacoste patch in its place?
Are these are credible photos from an authentic moment? The linked site calls itself FN Real News and the Internet never lies - it says Real right there in the name. Eleven Warriors probably never covered this; is that because we hate feel-good stories?
You never read this story here because like Sayin at the dog shelter above, it's AI Slop, which is just one flavor of what you're subjected to on a now-daily basis. By the way, we love feel-good stories, which perform as well as feel-bad stories. The ones that underperform are the Don't Care stories - which, as a news service, we're often burdened with running too. It can't always be heart strings and fury when you're legitimate.
Here's another flavor, where the photos are authentic (and non-attributed, so they're stolen) but the words came right out of someone's ass. Or a robot's ass. Either way, a butt was involved.
A choice cut from the caption, if you don't feel like clicking through:
"This result leaves a sour feeling, not because of the final score, but because of what it exposed. Until there’s a firm boundary between intensity and misconduct, it will continue to be the players — the young men risking their bodies and futures every night — who bear the consequences.
I’m not speaking out of frustration. I’m speaking out of care. I love this game too much to watch it slowly drift away from its core values.”
This might shock you, but Jake Diebler never made this empty, detail-free diatribe. It's not that he's been taken out of context or his words were tweaked; the entire thing is fake. If it were real, it would appear somewhere other than Ohio Glory Days.
No information about that post, except for Ohio State losing to TCU in the NCAA Tournament, is real. But nearly 500 Facebook users liked it and dozens of accounts shared it. Next example, still men's basketball - is this real?
Statement from John Mobley Jr pic.twitter.com/laY0JNvtPa
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) March 31, 2026
It's real. Credentialed 11W reporter Andy Anders covered it yesterday on the site. As for the embedded social media post, that blue checkmark next to @OhioStateHoops is meaningless because ever since Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, anyone can buy those. Blue checkmarks no longer signal or vouch for authenticity.
You just have to know it's the official men's basketball account, which it is. If that sounds exhausting, great news, at least for Ohio State content - we do that for you here, free of charge. If the story is on 11W, it's real. We pay human people to vet this stuff for our readers.
Here's another story that 11W did not cover (today/this doesn't count):
This one features a potpourri of fake and real images juxtaposed for your heart's enjoyment. Ryan Day (beardless) with wife Nina, and losing to Michigan in 2024 (bearded) are both real photos. The third one is AI slop, with the fake Days gazing at what appears to be the back of an ultrasound sonogram.
The sonogram is facing you. So they're looking at a blank white piece of paper, together.
If you click through to the site - don't do that; I did it for you - you'll find that the letter n shows up as π (pi) which is a not-so-subtle signal that site is a foreign entity operated by people mostly unfamiliar with our alphabet. It's also intent on spamming and tracking you at a level even American web sites would find shameful.
Let's stick with Buckeye Pride Forever - not because there aren't numerous other spammy content farms just like it, but because I'm lethargic and it's easier for me. See how human I am? Lazy, just like you.
Powerful images of firefighters battling the flames in the infamous montane and subalpine forests of Nebraska...look, no one has sent me this one. This is a case where the foreign troll is extra insulting, because that's how little they think of the marks they're trying to keep engaged with their slop.
Non-Americans generally cannot tell one American state from the other, so Nebraska is Ohio now. Plot twist, we're not very good at American geography either - but the hit rate of Ohioans being able to identify Ohio is close to 100%.
Let's amp up the degree of difficulty:
Urban Meyer's medical conditions have been authentic topics historically, so this one isn't quite as dubious as Buckeyes donating their NIL to help battle Nebraska Mountain Wildfires.
Buckeye Pride Forever followers include two fake Caleb Downs accounts
First, let's pretend this is actually Urban pictured above, because it allows me to flex some of my day job healthcare chops. His monitor is showing peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO₂) at 90%, which - omg omg omg NURSE! LET'S KILL THE PHOTO SHOOT AND GET THIS PATIENT SOME OXYGEN.
Second, let's pretend Urban is hooked up to the monitor, which he's not. Humans have not yet evolved to transmit our biometrics wirelessly, so that screen should not have readings. Third, let's pretend Shelley Meyer isn't a nurse by training, because she would be all over this at the bedside.
Fourth, the waveform on that unconnected monitor is a little too perfect. Urb would have to be perfectly still in a silent room for the readings to come out like Charlie Brown's sweater. Friends, I'm afraid this one is fake too. But if you click through, you'll find it's garnering the desired engagements, namely Ts & Ps from a very concerned Buckeye Nation.
Have I fallen for AI slop? Yes, of course. Absolutely embarrassing - just not the Ohio State-flavored stuff. It's now so pervasive and convincing you have to keep your guard up. It's only going to get harder as AI slop advances and improves at depressing, breakneck speed.
If you've been fooled on a few of these, here's a layup for you to get your confidence back:
The University of Ohio State come on man, did high school senior Terrelle Pryor write this? But more importantly, we have a woman wearing an alleged university-issued cheeky bikini with the OSU logo printed on the sideboob.
You're not going to believe this, but human skin is great for online engagement. Cheeky bikinis are lousy for reducing drag in competitive swimming. The post says it was for a photoshoot, but there's no evidence of that anywhere - it's just this single article from Buckeye Pride Forever. Here's what the OSU women wear to the pool:
What's in a name? Eleven Warriors comes from fight song lyrics. Buckeye Pride Forever is comprised of three inspiring words. Sometimes, the vehicle for this kind of slop almost looks credible. You want to believe it. I don't want Buckeye Pride Forever to lie to me, either.
Sometimes the slop merchants make it easier for our tender hearts. This Buckeye account on Facebook calls itself Between the Hedges because bad and artificial actors cannot tell the difference between Georgia football and Ohio State football.
Slop doesn't get mired in details like Ohio Stadium does not have hedges. Nevertheless, it has a slew of followers including fake Carnell Tate, Jeremiah Smith, Caleb Downs - and for good measure - Kevin Stefanski accounts.
At the time this article is running, Riley Pettijohn is with the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Let's segue to player impersonation, which generally relies on real photographs and videos without attribution, then generates engagement on social media by pretending to be that player. Here's "Jeremiah Smith" posting from spring practice.
This account has 30,000 followers and mostly posts images you'd find on Pinterest with primitive inspirational quotes. Nearly a thousand Facebook users (you can't really say people and be accurate) liked this post, and over a dozen shared it.
This is also not Jeremiah Smith, but if you'd like to buy a football from this account that is not signed by Jeremiah Smith but is still signed Jeremiah Smith, you can do that. A lot of these accounts are lone grifters or more commonly, a content farm somewhere in Southeast Asia tugging at your emotions and begging you to believe the unbelievable in a world where every day feels just a little less plausible.
Let's close out on a high note and stay in the Ohio State wide receivers' room - Brock Boyd got his black stripe removed yesterday. Our guys talked about it as part of their coverage and the ceremony itself hit all of the legitimate social media channels as well. It's quadruple-confirmed!
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) March 31, 2026
The kid from TX has that IT factor, Zone 6 keeps adding to the list Welcome, @BrockBoyd_2 pic.twitter.com/FT0qSCmaXy
That's the official Ohio State account. Boyd himself shared the post, and you know it's him because the official Ohio State account called it out. If it didn't, that Boyd account's followers include actual Brian Hartline, most of the OSU beat and people who would know which player accounts are authentic.
Boyd has been arguably the most hyped freshman among the incoming class due to his work ethic, fluidity and refined route-running ability for a player who has not yet played a collegiate snap. Are people already referring to Boyd as Jaxon Smith-Vnilla as an homage to the former Buckeye and reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year?
No. They're not, at least not yet. I just made that up. April Fools!
