Gay dating app Goose accused of using AI models to drum up interest

People on social media are already honking about the new gay dating app Goose, due to a Wired investigation that claims it might be using AI-generated men to advertise the app.

Goose, founded by actor and model Derek Chadwick, markets itself as an "anti-algorithm" app. It's membership only, and there are no matches, but users can "wave" to each other.

Before Goose launched, gay men already had plenty of apps to choose from. There's Grindr, which is ubiquitous and easily the most well-known, but over the past few years, users have complained about paywalled features and a buggy user interface. Additionally, there are the apps Sniffies — which dating app conglomerate Match Group just invested $100 million in — SCRUFF, Jack'd, and the new-for-mobile Squirt (to name a few).

And one is no longer: During Pride Month, Match sunset its "intentional" gay dating app Archer.

In this crowded market, people on social media are describing random men DMing them and adding them to their Close Friends stories, only to promote Goose — and these men might be AI-generated.

Wired found more than two dozen Instagram accounts created in May or June 2026 that posted only a few times, suggesting they might be inauthentic. Wired also ran images from the accounts through AI detectors, and there was a high likelihood that AI was used to create these profiles. As Mashable previously reported, these AI checkers aren't foolproof, but combined with other factors, Wired — and gay men the accounts are DMing — have reported that these men may be fake, created solely for the purpose of promoting Goose.

Reached for comment, Goose provided this statement: Goose is disrupting the gay app space by creating a place where real people can make real friends, dates, and community – our team hand-picked every person who received an invite to our app, and we are proud of the community we are building. We work 24/7 to keep our app safe and free of the fake profiles that have soured other platforms. Clearly, our competitors are taking notice.

The Federal Trade Commission prohibits false advertising, Wired noted, and requires disclosure on social media ads.

UPDATE: Jul. 2, 2026, 5:56 p.m. EDT This article was updated to include a statement from Goose.