Image a screenshot from Leeds United Instagram.
Leeds United, a Premier League football club in England, has sparked outrage among its fanbase. At the center of it all is an AI-generated image of new signing Harry Wilson, and I have to admit, some fans have a point when they call it the “worst AI ever.”
Whenever a new signing joins a club, I’ve noticed the team floods its social accounts with photos of the player, usually in the club’s official kit, as a way of showing fans he’s arrived.
This time, instead of hiring a photographer, Leeds used an AI-generated image, and to me the clues are obvious.
First, there are the disproportionate body parts: thin, long feet, odd knees, and bizarre thighs.
Then there are the odd props littered around the frame: an oddly shaped football, a coat hanger hovering over the hook rather than resting on it, and a random pair of binoculars — something you’d seldom find in a football club’s locker room.
The post was shared on the club’s official Facebook and Instagram pages, and the comments are dominated by fans’ disapproval of the shot. One fan wrote on Instagram, “…What’s with the AI slop,” while another said, “get that AI slop down…you’re an [English Premier League] football club for goodness sake.”
I don’t buy that the club is short on budget for a photographer. According to The Athletic — a New York Times company — Leeds United’s matchday revenue alone runs around $31m (£23m), and the club ranks as the ninth largest in England by overall revenue.
Silve Lining…
Despite the sadness of a huge organization reaching for generative AI instead of hiring a professional photographer, I see a silver lining. I remember reporting on the Met Gala back in 2024, when the event was filled with AI-generated images of people who weren’t even in attendance. Back then, most people seemed completely unaware that what they were looking at wasn’t a real photograph. Now I sense a shift.
Not only can the average person spot a fake AI image (granted, in this case it’s painfully obvious), they’re also rejecting it and telling organizations with huge budgets to hire a professional photographer instead. The more we push back on incidents like this, the more society turns its back on lazy marketing, and hopefully the better it will be for the photo industry.
At the time of writing, Leeds United’s post was made 16 hours ago to its 1.3m Instagram followers. Despite the overwhelming backlash, the club has chosen not to delete it.
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