Tens of thousands of Instagram users appear to have been duped by an account purporting to belong to Canadian fugitive Ryan Wedding.
Instead, a CBC News analysis finds the page is full of content generated by artificial intelligence.
In the past week, a user with the handle bossryanw started posting pictures of high-end motorcycles, a helicopter, a snowboarding medal — even a miniature statue of Wedding — on a public Instagram profile.
As of Monday evening, the account had attracted more than 44,000 followers after it was featured on a Toronto crime blog and widely shared online. Separately, gossip outlet 6ixBuzz's post on the social media platform X amplifying the fake account has generated at least 740,000 views.
Ryan Wedding is seen in a 2013 Canadian driver's licence photo, left, and in a picture taken sometime in 2024 and distributed by U.S. investigators. (FBI)"Bro rage baiting the FBI is insane," one user commented on the Instagram account. "This account is a perfect example of how easily people are fooled by AI," wrote another.
Indeed, a CBC News review of the account finds multiple red flags suggesting an imposter has been posting images created using AI.
In other words, no, the photos shared by the account don't depict Wedding — a former Olympic snowboarder for Team Canada who is now one of the world's most-wanted men — living lavishly while on the run.
For more than a decade, the Thunder Bay, Ont.-born fugitive has evaded arrest while facing charges related to cocaine trafficking. First sought by the RCMP in 2015, Wedding was added to the FBI's most-wanted list last year, amid allegations he orchestrated dozens of murders as the leader of a transnational criminal enterprise.
In one post, the Instagram account features what appears to be an orange motorcycle signed by former MotoGP world champion Marc Márquez, with the message "para mi amigo RW," or "for my friend RW."
A representative for Spanish motorcycle racer Marc Márquez denied the former MotoGP world champion signed a bike for accused drug kingpin Ryan Wedding, though the above image appears on an Instagram account purporting to belong to Wedding. (bossryanw/Instagram)A representative for Márquez denied any ties to Wedding.
"The writing and signature on the photo were not made by Marc, and the motorcycle he has is a replica," Márquez's manager Jimmy Martínez told CBC in an email. "The only original one is the one Marc keeps at his home."
Images show signs of AI interferenceAnother photo features a golden medal draped over a Daffy Duck sculpture, captioned: "The one I managed to rescue."
The caption appeared to reference the December seizure of property, including motorcycles and snowboarding medals, in co-ordinated raids on Mexican homes linked to Wedding.
While there is an Argentine artist who creates this exact style of Daffy Duck sculpture, this specific image is either fully AI-generated or significantly altered. The main clue is the illegible text on the medal. AI image tools still struggle with rendering text, so garbled lettering is a telltale sign of AI interference.
Another example is a photo of a collection of MotoGP motorcycles, including Andrea Dovizioso's Mission Winnow Ducati and Márquez's Repsol Honda.
While the image initially suggests a real collection, zooming in reveals that the text is once again unreadable. Furthermore, certain mechanical parts are poorly rendered, both clear indicators of AI generation.
An Instagram account claiming to belong to fugitive Ryan Wedding share an image of four motorbikes, with the caption 'starting over, piece by piece.' The post came after Mexican authorities seized 62 motorcycles from four homes raided in December. (bossryanw/Instagram)Finally, an image shows a man holding the door of what appears to be a Bell 407-series helicopter.
However, the rotor lacks essential mechanical detail, the doors are incorrectly rendered, the man's shirt is missing realistic textures and the image contains several elements common to AI-generated content.
User says he's Ryan WeddingLast week, CBC News reached out to the person operating the Instagram account. They invited a reporter to chat over Threema, the encrypted messaging app that Wedding is said to have used to communicate with his associates.
"Yes, brother," the user wrote when asked if they were really the 44-year-old Wedding.
"I'm interested in giving an in-person interview somewhere in the world," the user later added.
The bossryanw account first drew attention last week when a Reddit user posted a screenshot of the Instagram page on the subreddit for the Netflix show Narcos.
The Instagram account was then set to "private" mode, meaning the user had to approve any new viewers. The screenshot has since been removed by the subreddit's moderators.
WATCH | $40 million US worth of motorcycles seized in manhunt for Ryan Wedding:The FBI recently seized dozens of high-end motorcycles believed to belong to Canadian fugitive Ryan Wedding with an estimated value of $40 million US. The FBI is now confirming some of the motorcycles were used in professional racing.Public Instagram data showed the account was based in Bolivia, and had changed usernames seven times since it was created in January 2021.
The user who communicated with CBC over Threema declined to provide evidence of any connection to Wedding.
Mathieu Lavigne, analytical lead at McGill University's Media Ecosystem Observatory, says it's not surprising to see so many users engage with the AI content.
“It plays into popular true-crime curiosity, encourages speculation and appears to have been amplified by X’s recommendation system, which primarily rewards engagement,” he said in an email.
He says the Instagram images highlight what he warns is a worrying trend.
"More and more of the content Canadians see on social media is AI-generated.”
Ryan Wedding is seen in a 2024 photo, which CBC's visual investigations unit determined was taken in Mexico City's Sante Fe business district. (FBI)An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on the account. Instagram's parent company Meta did not respond to a request for comment.
The FBI has said Wedding is living in Mexico, under the protection of the murderous Sinaloa cartel.
Last month, Mexican authorities said they seized 62 high-end motorbikes during co-ordinated raids on four addresses linked to Wedding in and around Mexico City. The FBI said the motorcycles — including authentic MotoGP machines used in professional races — were estimated to be worth $40 million US.
The FBI has released only three verified photos of Wedding taken since 2024. The most recent picture, purportedly taken last summer in Mexico, shows the six-foot-three-inch former athlete lying in bed, with a lion tattoo visible on his chest.
Canadian fugitive Ryan Wedding is seen in a picture thought to have been taken in Mexico, sometime in the summer of 2025, according to U.S. investigators. (FBI)