Goose, a New Gay Dating App, Appears to Be a Psyop
Goose, a New Gay Dating App, Appears to Be a Psyop
Goose：一款新的同性交友应用，疑似一场“心理战”
The Instagram Close Friends Story for @miles.sumrall shows an affable-looking guy with curly dark hair and an expertly groomed mustache beaming as he floats on the water. “You’re receiving this because you’re exactly the type of person we’re building this for,” the caption reads, accompanied by a code for an invite to a “members only community.”
Instagram 账号 @miles.sumrall 的“密友”快拍（Close Friends Story）中，出现了一位看起来和蔼可亲的男子，他留着深色卷发，修剪得体的胡须，正漂浮在水面上灿烂地笑着。配文写道：“你收到这条消息是因为你正是我们这款应用的目标用户，”并附带了一个进入“会员专属社区”的邀请码。
The link leads to a login for Goose, a dating and friendship app for gay men with the slogan “for the boys,” which allows users to “meet guys through the life you already have,” according to its website.
该链接指向 Goose 的登录页面。这是一款面向男同性恋者的约会和交友应用，口号是“为了男孩们”（for the boys），其官网称该应用旨在让用户“通过你现有的生活方式去结识他人”。
The problem is that @miles.sumrall does not appear to be real. Neither does @danielmmulugeta, the cute dark-haired influencer who shared the above caption, with the exact same verbiage, on his Close Friends’ Stories. Both accounts were created in May 2026 and have fewer than 10 posts as well as a high following-to-follower ratio. And both of their Instagram avatars were determined with greater than 90 percent confidence to be AI-generated, according to the AI Image Detector software. A SynthID check on Google Gemini, which can help identify AI-generated images, also found that “most or all of” Miles’ and Daniel’s profile photos were created using Google AI.
问题在于，@miles.sumrall 似乎并非真人。那位分享了同样配文的深色头发网红 @danielmmulugeta 看起来也不像真人。这两个账号均创建于 2026 年 5 月，发布内容不足 10 条，且关注人数与粉丝人数比例极高。根据 AI 图像检测软件的分析，这两个账号的头像有超过 90% 的概率是由人工智能生成的。通过 Google Gemini 的 SynthID 工具（可用于识别 AI 生成图像）检测发现，Miles 和 Daniel 的头像“大部分或全部”都是由谷歌 AI 创建的。
Created by the model-influencer Derek Chadwick, as well as former BeReal growth and community manager David Aliagas, Goose positions itself as a Grindr alternative for gay men who want to build lasting relationships. At the time that it was announced, many scoffed at the idea that the app would be used for anything other than finding casual hookups. “Goose is basically Pokémon Ho,” one X user joked.
Goose 由模特兼网红 Derek Chadwick 以及前 BeReal 增长与社区经理 David Aliagas 共同创建，其定位是为那些希望建立长期关系的男同性恋者提供 Grindr 的替代方案。在应用发布之初，许多人对它能用于寻找长期关系而非仅仅是“约炮”的说法嗤之以鼻。一位 X 用户调侃道：“Goose 基本上就是‘Pokémon Ho’（意指约炮版宝可梦）。”
Still, user interest was apparently high enough that when the app launched last Thursday, it rose to #4 in the App Store’s free lifestyle downloads category, and is now ranked 33rd in lifestyle app downloads globally. And promotional content by creators like @miles.sumrall likely played a role in driving so many to download the app.
尽管如此，用户的兴趣似乎依然高涨。上周四该应用上线时，它迅速攀升至 App Store 免费生活方式类下载榜第 4 名，目前在全球生活方式类应用下载榜中排名第 33 位。而像 @miles.sumrall 这样的创作者所发布的推广内容，很可能在推动大量用户下载该应用的过程中发挥了作用。
Miles and Daniel appeared in screengrabs shared on X by user @pspthe2nd, whose post alleged that the app “use[s] AI models to promote fake interest #goose.” But both of the accounts appear to be part of a much larger network of comely, seemingly AI-generated male influencers promoting the app, either by reaching out to gay men via DM or adding them to their Close Friends Stories.
Miles 和 Daniel 出现在了用户 @pspthe2nd 分享的 X 平台截图中，该用户发帖称该应用“利用 AI 模型来制造虚假热度 #goose”。但这两个账号似乎只是一个更庞大的网络的一部分，该网络由一群外表俊朗、疑似 AI 生成的男性网红组成，他们通过私信或将用户加入“密友”快拍的方式来推广该应用。
Ryan Cheam, an account executive in marketing and public relations, says he first noticed a strange new Instagram account belonging to someone named @alistaircrombbie about a week ago. His bio says he works in PR at a well-known art gallery, so, Cheam tells WIRED, “I thought he was just a normal gay guy.” He became suspicious, however, after Alistair DMed him inviting him to join a “curated network of guys” at Goose, sending him an invite code. A SynthID check found that “most or all” of Alistair’s profile photo was generated using Google AI.
市场与公关客户经理 Ryan Cheam 表示，他大约一周前注意到一个名为 @alistaircrombbie 的奇怪新 Instagram 账号。该账号简介称其在一家知名画廊从事公关工作，因此 Cheam 告诉《连线》（WIRED）杂志：“我当时以为他只是个普通的同性恋者。”然而，在 Alistair 私信邀请他加入 Goose 的“精选男性网络”并发送邀请码后，他产生了怀疑。SynthID 检测发现，Alistair 的头像“大部分或全部”是由谷歌 AI 生成的。
In addition to Miles, Alistair, and Daniel, WIRED was able to identify more than two dozen similar accounts, all of which were created in May or June 2026 and featured just a few posts—a typical indication of inauthentic accounts. Many of the accounts also frequently comment on each other’s photos, including the same heart and fire emojis.
除了 Miles、Alistair 和 Daniel，WIRED 还识别出超过两打类似的账号，它们全部创建于 2026 年 5 月或 6 月，且仅发布了少量内容——这是虚假账号的典型特征。许多账号还频繁在彼此的照片下评论，内容包括相同的爱心和火焰表情符号。
Often, the accounts followed potential members and added them to their Close Friends Stories, but sometimes they directly DMed them to encourage them to sign up, as was the case with Dalton Bauer, who works in marketing and received a DM from a user named @lucalepkowski. “Hey! Okay this might feel random but felt you’d be interested :),” the message begins before inviting Bauer to the Goose community, using language identical to that of the one Cheam received from Alistair.
这些账号通常会关注潜在用户并将他们加入“密友”快拍，但有时也会直接私信鼓励他们注册。从事市场营销工作的 Dalton Bauer 就收到了来自用户 @lucalepkowski 的私信。消息开头写道：“嘿！好吧，这可能显得很突兀，但我觉得你会感兴趣 :)”，随后便邀请 Bauer 加入 Goose 社区，其措辞与 Cheam 从 Alistair 那里收到的信息如出一辙。
Bauer was less than flattered by the invite: it was the third such DM he’d received this week, using the exact same language, from an account that was brand-new. “This is the first time I’ve seen this on Instagram, and at this scale,” he tells WIRED. “I think someone needs to shed light on this as it’s shady and deceiving.”
Bauer 对此邀请并不买账：这已经是他本周收到的第三条此类私信了，内容完全相同，且都来自全新的账号。“这是我第一次在 Instagram 上看到这种情况，而且规模如此之大，”他告诉 WIRED，“我认为有人需要曝光这件事，因为它既阴暗又具有欺骗性。”
Like the other accounts linked to the Goose invites, the @lucalepkowski account was created in May 2026. An analysis using the AI Image Detector software found that the profile image—a photo of a college-aged man in khaki shorts on a beach, sipping from a large water bottle—was 80 percent likely to have been artificially generated. Further analysis using Google Gemini also determined that at least part of Luca’s profile photo “was edited or generated with Google AI.”
与其它关联 Goose 邀请的账号一样，@lucalepkowski 账号创建于 2026 年 5 月。使用 AI 图像检测软件分析发现，其头像——一张大学生模样的男子穿着卡其色短裤在海滩上喝水的照片——有 80% 的概率是人工生成的。通过 Google Gemini 的进一步分析也确定，Luca 头像的至少一部分“经过了编辑或由谷歌 AI 生成”。
Chadwick did not respond to multiple requests for comment, nor did anyone else from Goose. But on his Instagram Stories, cofounder Aliagas appears to have advertised multiple job listings for “ambassadors” to help manage various unspecified social media accounts.
Chadwick 没有回应多次置评请求，Goose 的其他人也未作回应。但在他的 Instagram 快拍中，联合创始人 Aliagas 似乎发布了多条招聘“大使”的职位信息，以帮助管理各种未指明的社交媒体账号。
The caption of an Instagram story Aliagas posted six weeks ago reads: “Need some help w my new app and you know I always give priority access to these opportunities to my OGs here :)” He listed the details for the “ambassador role,” requiring that they help manage three Instagram accounts four hours a day for two-plus months, with rates ranging from $1,800 to $2,100 a month. “Familiarity with gay culture is a big +. Time to monetize ur traumas :),” Aliagas wrote before signing off with, “And btw, still buying finstas [fake Instagram accounts] for $100 :).”
Aliagas 六周前发布的一条 Instagram 快拍配文写道：“需要一些人帮我处理我的新应用，你知道我总是优先把这些机会留给我的老朋友们 :)”。他列出了“大使角色”的细节，要求每天花四小时管理三个 Instagram 账号，为期两个多月，月薪在 1800 美元到 2100 美元之间。“熟悉同性文化是一个加分项。是时候把你的创伤变现了 :)，”Aliagas 写道，并在最后补充说：“顺便说一下，还在以 100 美元的价格收购 finstas [虚假 Instagram 账号] :)。”
Aliagas posted another call for applicants for an “ambassador role” for his “new app” three weeks ago, this time asking for a three-month commitment. “We are going big :-),” he wrote. Both Stories are still included in his Instagram Story highlights, under the title “AMBASSADORS.”
三周前，Aliagas 又发布了一则为他的“新应用”招聘“大使”的启事，这次要求三个月的承诺期。“我们要搞大动作了 :-)，”他写道。这两条快拍目前仍保留在他的 Instagram 快拍精选（Highlights）中，标题为“AMBASSADORS”（大使）。
It’s not unusual for brands and developers to surreptitiously use AI-generated influencers to promote their products. A recent Guardian investigation quoted a former celebrity manager who now creates such accounts, who estimated that “40 percent to 60 percent of the content out there from some of the big brands” is artificially generated, most of which is not public.
品牌和开发者暗中利用 AI 生成的网红来推广产品并不罕见。《卫报》最近的一项调查引用了一位现从事此类账号创建的前名人经纪人的话，他估计“一些大品牌发布的内容中，有 40% 到 60% 是人工生成的”，且其中大部分并未公开披露。