A coordinated misinformation network
Meta has taken down a network of 39 Facebook pages that were disseminating false assertions that several National Hockey League legends were battling terminal brain cancer.
The pages, traced to administrators operating out of Vietnam, were specifically aimed at fans following the Stanley Cup playoffs, leveraging the high‑profile nature of the tournament to amplify their reach.
According to the social‑media giant, the pages collectively amassed roughly 245,000 followers and were designed to funnel traffic toward websites saturated with advertising, using sensational headlines and unnatural English phrasing.
Players set the record straight
Among the personalities targeted were Hall‑of‑Famer Mario Lemieux and former player Larry Robinson, both of whom publicly refuted the claims. Robinson, in a post on X, clarified that he does not have brain cancer, while Lemieux’s own health history — Hodgkin’s lymphoma — was misrepresented in the false narrative.
The misinformation also alleged that NHL stars had paid hospital bills for cancer‑stricken fans, a claim that added an emotional layer to the deception and further eroded trust in the pages.
Meta removed the pages for breaching its platform policies, which prohibit the spread of coordinated inauthentic behavior and deceptive health misinformation. The company encourages users to examine page transparency tools to verify the true origin of such content.