Cricket commentator and daughter of Australian legend Matthew Hayden, Grace Hayden, has issued an urgent warning to her social media followers after discovering a fake account impersonating her on the platform X.
An Impersonator on the Platform
Hayden took to her official Instagram account on Tuesday to alert her fans. She revealed that an account using the handle @grace_haydenn was falsely claiming to be her. The broadcaster urged her community to report and block the counterfeit profile immediately.
"It's come to my attention there is a fake X account pretending to be me," Hayden wrote. "If you come across the account @grace_haydenn on X please report and block." She echoed this message on her genuine X account, @Graciehayden02.
Swift Action and Fan Support
The call to action proved effective. By the time reports circulated, the fraudulent account had been taken down. Hayden's followers rallied behind her, expressing their support and relief. One supporter commented on the injustice of a random account stealing her photos and gaining followers, while another celebrated the takedown with a message of "Well done. The fake account is now gone!"
A Wider Pattern of Online Abuse
This incident is not isolated. Grace Hayden is among several high-profile female sports figures in Australia targeted by malicious online activity this year. In May, NRLW star Jaime Chapman confronted a damaging deepfake photo attack. The 23-year-old described the AI-generated images as "scary" and "damaging," pleading for the behaviour to stop.
Similarly, former Fox Sports football reporter Tiffany Salmond spoke out in October about being a victim of explicit AI deepfakes. Salmond revealed the ongoing nature of the attacks, noting that a particularly explicit fake was shared just three weeks prior to her statement. She highlighted the secondary trauma of being accused of fabricating the story for attention.
These cases underscore a disturbing trend of digital harassment facing women in sport, where technology is weaponised to create fake content and impersonate identities without consent.
