June 2, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\nSome social media users took issue with another feature of the post: An image of what appears to be a Hurricanes player that accompanied the message. The problem: Fans had a difficult time identifying the player.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They accused Whatley of using artificial intelligence to create the image, pointing to garbled letters on a jersey where the NHL logo typically is and helmet stickers that are inconsistent with the team\u2019s current branding. While a few users took the opportunity to praise Whatley in responses, many derided the post as \u201cAI slop.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At least one fan implied that the image looked like a mashup of two Hurricanes forwards, Jackson Blake and Andrei Svechnikov.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJacksandrei Blakenekov, also one of my favorite HHL players. Why\u2019s everyone so upset?\u201d a user quipped in response to Whatley\u2019s post, which had been viewed by almost 300,000 users by late Wednesday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing says a true fan like an AI-generated fake player,\u201d wrote another.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One respondent presented Whatley with a challenge: \u201cI\u2019ll vote for you if you can tell me this player\u2019s name and number,\u201d the user wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whatley on Wednesday acknowledged that AI was used to create the image. \u201cIt\u2019s just a graphic we created,\u201d he said at a campaign event in Zebulon. \u201cLook, I want to see the Carolina Hurricanes win. It would be great for the state.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Asked by a reporter to name his three favorite Hurricanes players, he responded: \u201cYou know, I think we like them all.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Asked to name one favorite player, he said: \u201cThat\u2019s a team that\u2019s loaded. They\u2019re playing offense really well. I\u2019m excited about having them there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes have won 12 of 14 games in the playoffs \u2014 one of the best starts to a\u00a0 postseason in NHL history \u2014 despite a lack of memorable moments from some of the team\u2019s most recognizable stars. The team\u2019s top line of Svechnikov, Aho and Seth Jarvis has struggled to match its regular-season productivity. Other players \u2014 including Blake, Logan Stankoven and former league MVP Taylor Hall \u2014 have led the team in scoring.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the Hurricanes declined to comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Not a big deal\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other Whatley social media accounts have featured similar images. One post on Instagram featured a player who looks like Blake but is wearing the number of forward Sebastian Aho.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whatley described his campaign\u2019s use of AI in such posts as \u201cnot a big deal.\u201d But some political analysts disagree.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that it was bungled makes it more of an issue,\u201d said David McLennan, a political science professor at Meredith College, which sits less than 3 miles from the Hurricanes\u2019 home arena.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whatley is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Thom Tillis, who chose not to seek reelection. The seat is seen as important to the GOP\u2019s effort to retain control of the chamber in this year\u2019s midterm elections.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, trails Democrat Roy Cooper by a wide margin in recent polls. McLennan, who regularly polls voters on state issues and candidate preferences, said team allegiance doesn\u2019t typically affect voters\u2019 decisions at the ballot box.\u00a0 However, McLennan says it could affect how some voters view Whatley\u2019s campaign. \u201cIt brings attention to the candidate and raises questions about the candidate’s credibility,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cooper, 68, is a former two-term governor who frequently attends Hurricanes games and appears on sports radio shows and podcasts to discuss the team. He also took advantage of the team\u2019s appearance in the Stanley Cup Final, airing a television ad during Game 1, part of his first TV ad campaign in what is expected to be one of the most expensive races in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
McLennan said a less-is-more approach could have worked better for Whatley. \u201cIf he had just sent out an ad that said, \u2018Go Canes,\u2019 that’s innocuous,\u201d McLennan said. \u201cEverybody would have said, \u2018He’s a Canes fan, just like Roy Cooper.\u2019 But the fact that there are questions raised about the AI-produced image now brings more scrutiny to Whatley and future ads.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
BBQ \u2018scandal\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whatley, 57, isn\u2019t the first U.S. Senate candidate to face scrutiny for a social media post about one of North Carolina\u2019s cultural cornerstones.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Republicans in 2020 slammed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cal Cunningham for misrepresenting the state\u2019s barbecue in a social media post. Cunningham posted a photo of himself standing next to a grill, adding the caption: \u201cThere\u2019s nothing better than BBQ \u2014 except for winning this Senate seat, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n
The state Republican Party at the time called Cunningham\u2019s post a \u201cscandal,\u201d since North Carolina barbecue traditionally refers to pork cooked over wood or charcoal-fired pits \u2014 not a grill.<\/p>\n
Whatley, who chaired the North Carolina Republican party at the time, issued a statement shortly after Cunningham\u2019s post that accused the Democrat of being \u201can elitist trial lawyer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis BBQ gaffe demonstrates that he is out of touch with North Carolina voters who actually know what North Carolina BBQ is,” Whatley said at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, it was the state Democratic Party\u2019s turn, saying in a statement: \u201cAs North Carolina rallies around the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Finals, real fans are showing up \u2014 and fake fans are named Michael Whatley.\u201d<\/p>\n
The North Carolina Republican Party shot back: \u201cDoes Cooper\u2019s basement campaign let him stay up to watch 8 p.m. games?\u201d<\/p>\n
In response, Cooper\u2019s campaign pointed to more than 20 public events it has held this year, including one in which Cooper spoke with hockey analysts after a game, after 8 p.m.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
WRAL reporters Brian Murphy and Paul Specht contributed to this report. <\/p>\n
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