We are in a world full of AI, and sometimes we as Cowboys and NFL watchers don't know what is real and what isn't, except this time we sort of do.
FRISCO - We now exist in an AI-driven and Bot-led world in which the margin between what we can touch, feel and experience vs. what has come to be known as "fake news'' is mighty slim.
The latest example? The photographs being shared across social media - and "real media'' - that suggest Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has undergone an unbelievable physical transformation.
I mean "unbelievable'' in the literal sense ... as in, "Nobody really believes this, do they?''
This ridiculousness started with a shot of Prescott looking like The Rock outside of a UFC event with former NFL player Taylor Lewan.
Then Polymarket Football posted on X a picture of Prescott from a Dallas media session, with Dak's arms literally twice the size they normally are.
But it didn't stop there.
The last shot we have is of Dak from NFL X account NFL Rumors during workouts at The Star. The photoshopping here is cartoonish; he looks like a drawing of The Hulk.
But Cowboys fans know their quarterback, and it takes no more than a second to tell that those photos are AI-generated.
Right?
We're not that dumb. Right?
I mean, Cowboys Nation saw photos of Dak at minicamp, and I was standing right there on the sideline at The Star. And he looked to be about 6-2 and 230 or so ... pretty much like always.
"Fit.'' But not a caricature of himself.
And yet the comments on the social media posts demonstrate some level of gullibility from Cowboys watchers. ... all fueled by real, live media outlets falling for the hoax.
Yes, I'm looking at you, USAToday, Yahoo and Sports Illustrated.
Look back at photos of Prescott during Cowboys minicamp in June.
Or look at the pictures from a few days ago of Dak as he led the offensive skill position players in a football retreat in Utah.
Or look at video of him on Friday at his charity gala.
There is no "big transformation" from Dallas' quarterback. There is nothing but "fake news'' and some fans and some media - maybe hungry for NFL content to sink their teeth into or maybe knowingly trying to con their way into clicks - falling for silliness.
Prescott, like many athletes, does tinker with his body. A few pounds here, some added muscle there. But remember tight end Jake Ferguson calling Prescott the "Slim Reaper" after Dak trimmed down over the offseason last year?
Me? Maybe I should quit fighting the bots and the boobs ... and I am tempted to join the trend.
"Dak's jacked!''? Sure, but what about "Muscle Fish!''?
Check me out!
