Has major Rangers media been duped by a fake journalist? | OneFootball

We are not 100% sure on this one, so we will leave our original article up. The subject is Luca Chianti, the supposed journalist who recently claimed Kevin Thelwell threatened to quit if Russell Martin was fired. As we said before, we could not verify his authenticity and there remains serious doubt over whether he is genuine. What’s more curious is the number of sites trying to defend his legitimacy as Rangers duped by fake story.

Parody or journalist?

Some media outlets insist they have verified him and have published his stories as fact. We cannot find anything official that proves Gianluca Chianti is a credible journalist. His work has been lifted by football websites who treat it as legitimate. That alone clouds the picture because it gives an impression of authority where none may exist. But there are many reasons to believe he is fake.

Why the doubts exist

The same profile photo linked to Chianti is apparently being used in Amazon reviews. That points towards stock or AI imagery rather than a real person. His online replies often look like trolling and baiting, not the behaviour of a professional reporter. The name itself does not sound convincing and lacks the weight you would expect from someone who supposedly works in European football journalism. He has no LinkedIn page, which for a journalist in 2025 is almost unheard of. We tried to trace employment history and could not find anything that stands up. Credits exist in places, but whether those are genuine or simply false attributions is another matter. None of this builds credibility.

The bigger problem

Plenty of football websites have still used his material for actual news stories. That shows how easy it is for parody accounts to pass themselves off as real. He has been accused of tricking news outlets into running complete fabrications, and in the modern digital landscape it is not hard to see how. A few professional-looking posts and the veneer of insider knowledge can be enough to fool many. That is why the story has carried traction, even if it is rooted in nothing.

What it all means

So what does it leave us with? We lean towards parody but we cannot be absolutely definitive. There is just enough doubt to stop us calling it outright fake, but the warning signs are everywhere. Did Kevin Thelwell really threaten to walk away if Martin was sacked? Honestly, we could not tell you. Rangers duped by fake story? Without proper verification the entire claim rests on an account that could well be a troll. That is no foundation for serious journalism. Until there is proof, we remain sceptical.