The Breakers: Xander McGuire lifts lid on players’ retirement messages and AI ‘epidemic’

There is a new “epidemic” in the AFL and it’s rife among the players, according to gun 7NEWS sports reporter Xander McGuire.

Speaking on the new hit podcast, The Breakers, McGuire has revealed there is often more than meets the eye when players share “heartfelt” retirement announcements on their social media platforms.

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Asked for his his thoughts on retirement posts on social media, McGuire said, “I like them if they’re written by the person themselves.”

When pressed further, McGuire said: “I don’t want to piss on any statues.

“I’ve just noticed, and I’m not going to name any names, but I’d like the listeners of The Breakers just to keep their eye out for the epidemic of players writing heartfelt messages that are actually written by ChatGPT.”

McGuire said “you can always tell” and there were telltale signs..

7NEWS chief cricket reporter Tom Morris admitted his eyes weren’t “trained” for picking out AI written content, with McGuire amusingly instructing him to Gen Z-ify himself.

“I don’t shy away from my generation. We’re finally building back from the disgraceful Millennial sort of crop that you let in charge,” McGuire said.

McGuire said the “double dash” or em dash (eg: —) was an obvious sign.

“Let’s say that there’s a dash like this, like just a normal one, like a hyphen ... if it’s one hyphen, you know that a human has written that. If there’s a double hyphen like that, that is like the most telltale sign that someone has constructed the message using AI,” McGuire said.

“Is that right? I never knew that,” Morris exclaimed.

7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary said: “ I’m getting some nods out the back too.”

“I’m a hyphener,” McGuire continued.

“But yeah, so if you get a long text from someone and you see a double hyphen (or em dash), you know that they’ve just chucked three prompts into (ChatGPT).

“Or you know, a big retirement post, or an emotional, you know, my 250th (game) post, all these kinds of things ... it’s and even like some phrases ... (but) the double hyphen is the telltale though, and it needs to stop.”

The Breakers is an exclusive six-episode podcast series by LiSTNR and the Seven Network, taking AFL fans behind the scenes of the stories shaping the game with.

The Breakers is hosted by 7NEWS reporters Mitch Cleary, Xander McGuire, and Tom Morris, with the gun newsbreakers taking you behind the scenes of the world of footy journalism, and how the big stories are broken.

Listen to The Breakers with Mitch Cleary, Xander McGuire, and Tom Morris on the 7AFL podcast feed on LiSTNR, and watch it on 7AFL and 7NEWS Australia YouTube each week.