A Facebook page and Instagram account that allegedly used a fabricated identity to promote a supposed Temecula Valley Unified School District board candidate have been removed as of Monday, July 20, after questions arose about the authenticity of the accounts. The investigation began after the Denton Fire Department in Texas alerted the Valley News that the individual behind the profiles falsely claimed to be a Denton firefighter named Matt Callahan — a person the department says never existed.
The Denton Fire Department launched an investigation into the fraudulent social media accounts after determining they falsely represented one of its firefighters, prompting officials to seek outside investigative assistance to identify the person or group responsible.
David Boots, the department’s public information officer, said the account used the name “Matt Callahan” as a Denton firefighter. A department review determined that no firefighter by that name has ever worked for the agency.
Boots said the only firefighter matching that name the department could identify was a firefighter from Massachusetts who died last year.
Department officials also determined that photographs posted on the account did not depict Denton Fire Department personnel or equipment. Boots said the uniforms, badges, fire stations and fire apparatus shown in the images did not match those used by the department.
One photograph that appeared to show a crew of nine firefighters was also determined to be fabricated, according to Boots, who said none of the individuals pictured were current or former Denton firefighters.
Why would someone create false Facebook and Instagram accounts showing a fake retired firefighter running for office in Temecula? It could be for fun, or it could be to pull votes from the other candidate, which is election tampering.
TVUSD Board President Dr. Komrosky said, speaking personally and not on behalf of the board, “The reported use of an AI-generated social media account to impersonate a retired firefighter is deeply concerning and has no place in our elections. Regardless of political differences, every candidate deserves a fair campaign free from deception, intimidation, and misinformation, and any credible reports of impersonation should be thoroughly investigated and those responsible held accountable.”
According to Captain Boots, the Denton Fire Department employs 235 career firefighters who operate from nine stations. Information from those officials helped confirm that the account’s claims were inaccurate.
Boots said the department reported the account and its images to Meta and Instagram and attempted to contact the account directly through private messages but received no response.
Valley News reached out directly to the fake account and commented on the Matt Callahan Instagram account, letting them know that they were suspected to be fraudulent, they were being investigated, and asking for the owner of the account to contact the paper. The accounts then appeared to be taken down the same day.
Another profile, apparently owned by the same person, was also taken down, and gave a clue to where “Matt Callahan” possibly came from. There were disturbing deepfake videos of local school board candidates and community leaders. The first video depicted Dr. Komrosky and his campaign manager Jason Craig having a baby, and the baby was “Matt Callahan”. This led people to believe that Callahan was likely an artificial intelligence-generated composite created from photographs of Craig and Dr. Komrosky.
The Denton department’s fire chief, marketing and communications director and city management have been monitoring the situation. The Denton Fire Department is the only career fire department among the eight U.S. cities named Denton, further supporting the department’s conclusion that the account falsely claimed an affiliation with the agency.
As of Monday, July 20, both the Facebook page and Instagram account associated with the alleged impersonation were still not publicly accessible.
