Swimming Australia has again called on Meta to remove fabricated anti-LGBTQ+ posts falsely attributed to one of its star athletes — this time targeting Olympic gold medallist Kyle Chalmers.
It marks the second such incident in just two weeks, after similar fake quotes were spread online involving teammate Mollie O’Callaghan.
The latest post, still visible on Facebook, features a composite image of Chalmers with a fabricated “breaking news” style caption claiming the swimmer threatened to withdraw from the Australian team if LGBT athletes were allowed to compete. The bogus quote includes offensive language and a comparison to trans swimmer Lia Thomas, falsely attributing inflammatory statements to Chalmers.
“WE DON’T PLAY TO CELEBRATE THEIR STUPID PRIDE,” the post falsely reads.
“IF YOU WANT EQUALITY, WHY BE PROUD?”
Swimming Australia: “Chalmers Never Made These Comments”
In a statement, Swimming Australia confirmed Chalmers had never given an interview to the pages behind the post — Swim Hub or Swim Aquatics — and had never made any public comment on LGBTQ+ or transgender athletes.
“There are currently fabricated quotes attributed to Dolphin Kyle Chalmers appearing on social media,” the organisation said.
“Meta was first advised of the fake news involving Australian swimmers two weeks ago.
Chalmers and Swimming Australia have again requested the posts to be taken down.”
When O’Callaghan was targeted earlier in October, Swimming Australia similarly clarified that the swimmer had never been interviewed or commented on transgender athletes and issued a formal request for Meta to act.
Meta Under Fire for Failing to Moderate Anti-LGBTQ+ Misinformation
The controversy comes amid growing scrutiny of Meta’s content moderation policies, particularly surrounding LGBTQ+ misinformation and hate speech.
In January, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced sweeping changes to the company’s approach to moderation. These included scrapping independent fact-checking teams and replacing human oversight with “community notes”, citing a desire to protect free speech.
“We’re going back to our roots, and focusing on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies, and restoring free expression on our platforms,” Zuckerberg said at the time.
He argued that fact-checking had become “too politically biased” and had eroded public trust.
Rise in Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate on Meta Platforms
Meta’s changes were widely criticised, particularly after it was revealed that users were no longer penalised for referring to LGBTQ+ people as ‘mentally ill’.
A 2024 report by GLAAD found that Meta was failing to properly moderate anti-trans hate, including slurs, the promotion of conversion therapy, and dangerous conspiracy theories linking LGBTQ+ identities to “grooming”.
Meanwhile, trans swimmer Lia Thomas continues to be a flashpoint in right-wing discourse. After becoming the first openly trans woman to win an NCAA championship in 2022, she has been banned from elite competitions under World Aquatics’ anti-trans policy. Her records have since been moved from UPenn’s official listings and reclassified with disclaimers.
