A World Cup Star Can Be “Babygirl.” But For Now, He’s Mostly AI.

Fans of Norwegian soccer star Erling Haaland have embraced him as a 'babygirl' and 'princess' during the FIFA Men's World Cup, but much of the viral content featuring him is AI-generated, leading news organizations and AI experts to fact-check posts.

Sign up for the free https://www.motherjones.com/newsletters/?mj oac=Article Top No Oligarchs Mother Jones Daily . As https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/sofi-strike-unite-here-world-cup-stadium-workers-fifa-labor-victory/ someone https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/ice-dhs-world-cup-mullin-us-travel-warning-immigration-enforcement/ who https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/trump-uscis-world-cup-visa-denial-ban-soccer-football-embassy/ watches https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/07/world-cup-soccer-us-belgium-balogun-red-card-trump-fifa-infantino/ too https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/07/world-cup-fifa-trump-stories-cape-verde-kansas-algeria-ivory-coast-diomande/ much https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/trump-world-cup-fifa-putin-qatar-soccer-football-politics-sportswashing-boykoff/ soccer https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/sofi-strike-unite-here-world-cup-stadium-workers-fifa-labor-victory/ and knows Erling Haaland as perhaps the world’s most formidable striker playing today https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4463813/is-erling-haaland-best-striker-in-world-how-goals-stats-compare-with-cristiano-ronaldo-lionel-messi , seeing friends and acquaintances show me viral videos of the player as an onion https://www.tiktok.com/@mw10.03/video/7659643570999119125 has been quite funny. Despite my distaste for his club team Manchester City is effectively owned by the United Arab Emirates, in large part to launder its image amid human rights violations https://www.theguardian.com/law/2018/nov/11/manchester-city-owners-accused-sportswashing-gulf-image , I do find Haaland very fun, especially in a sports industry where unrefined celebrity is rare. I particularly like this one: Over the past month’s FIFA Men’s World Cup matches, fans have called the Norwegian striker various versions of “ babygirl https://apnews.com/article/erling-haaland-world-cup-memes-internet-culture-2b0eb9a162a020e83de02323fe2d774e ” and “ princess https://www.instagram.com/p/DZ8caoriC49/?img index=4 .” The names largely come from the sharp contrast between his gigantic frame https://www.instagram.com/p/DZ2Zc biHZl/?img index=9 and endearing personality both on-camera and online. Haaland posts selfies with his “twin” https://www.instagram.com/p/DanvfWmEa8e/ —a low-res image of the animated character Shrek—on his Snapchat https://www.snapchat.com/@erling.haaland , and has a large designer bag collection https://www.voguehk.com/en/article/fashion/erling-haaland-luxury-handbag-collection/?q=/en/article/fashion/erling-haaland-luxury-handbag-collection/& —Chanel, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, etc. He is tailor-made for internet fandom https://www.tiktok.com/@norway.reality/video/7654516944955002134? r=1& t=ZN-97ihSxK90nW . But a lot of the most viral content is AI-generated https://mashable.com/life/erling-haaland-eating-viral-video-not-real , gets endlessly reshared, and is often uncannily accurate https://www.instagram.com/p/DaU6k3ODJDo/?img index=2 —including one where Haaland appears to get scared by his own reflection while eating https://x.com/Crazymoments01/status/2071476110395678917 . We’re now at the point where news organizations https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.B8W7764 and AI experts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXlJWOizUxE are fact-checking viral Haaland posts. It’s unfortunate because I have enjoyed much of the internet’s newfound love affair with the player: comparisons to Dragon Ball Z villain Majin Buu https://www.instagram.com/p/DadNJcsgBtS/?utm source=ig embed , or the Heated Rivalry-inspired, if imaginary, shipping https://x.com/sauritgaurs/status/2073967267855974676?ref src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2073967267855974676%7Ctwgr%5Eb3fd252d475d4a011b527d0718d550b891fc366e%7Ctwcon%5Es1 &ref url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rollingstone.com%2Fculture%2Fculture-news%2Ferling-haaland-jude-bellingham-world-cup-memes-1235592079%2F of Haaland and former teammate Jude Bellingham that has spiraled into yaoi lore https://x.com/nyrania22/status/2075289287625523245?ref src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2075289287625523245%7Ctwgr%5Eb3fd252d475d4a011b527d0718d550b891fc366e%7Ctwcon%5Es1 &ref url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rollingstone.com%2Fculture%2Fculture-news%2Ferling-haaland-jude-bellingham-world-cup-memes-1235592079%2F fan-fiction. The guy is showing many people how the sport, and the culture inseparable from it, can be fun https://slate.com/culture/2026/07/norway-soccer-erling-haaland-united-states-world-cup.html?utm source=firefox-newtab-en-us . He effortlessly creates content on his own and inspires fans to run with it. We’ve got the memes and the fan fiction, so why do we need AI? Computer, I beg you, please show me the true creativity and passion of the internet.