The Premier League 'Inside' Journalist Who Has Everyone on Strings

The Premier League 'Inside' Journalist Who Has Everyone on Strings

Parody accounts are a well-known and ever-increasing part of football's social media culture.

Whether it be spreading an obviously false story as bait to get a bite from rival fans, or posting something which has genuine undertones of truth and waiting until it is inevitably believed by those most gullible.

There's an argument to say nothing is better than a little bit of false information… in moderation, of course.

Perfecting the art isn't easy, but a select few have it absolutely mastered and regularly have football Twitter (it's X now I know, but it sounds better) in meltdown.

One of the biggest culprits, who has been terrorising the space for a good while now, is parody Newcastle United journalist Francis Chipp.

Some of his made-up (or are they...?) stories have gone to the moon in terms of views and engagements, and Mr Chipp is showing no signs of slowing down his tricks anytime soon.

Who is Francis Chipp

Well... That's kind of just it. Who is Francis Chipp?

His bio states that he is a Newcastle United and Real Madrid fan; as you can see, the rage baiting of the average fan has already begun, and we are only at the first line.

He then follows up by stating his claim as an award-winning Premier League expert... I mean, does anyone have any evidence to suggest otherwise?

This is followed by a final statement, one which it seems many miss when visiting his account, that states, 'Everything I post is made up...'

Now, as a Newcastle fan myself, even with that statement being very obvious to anybody with eyes, and having read it myself multiple times, sometimes the stories are so good they do just make you wonder if this time, he might be telling the truth.

Chipp's Greatest Hits

It's safe to say Francis has had his fair share of banger tweets (or X's, if that's what they are called now) and stories which have caused a ruckus in football communities.

So with that being said, let's have a little look at some of his greatest hits.

Think of this as an exhibition of his work, a way to pay tribute to one of the greatest baiters to ever do it.

Matt Targett Left in Korea

If you already knew of Francis Chipp before this article, it was likely because of this story – it's safe to say it went nuclear on social media.

It ended up garnering 8.5 million impressions on X alone (okay, I've started calling it X; stop your complaining).

In fact, even BBC Tees reported the story on their socials; whether it was a serious repost is yet to be discovered, and Matt Targett himself kept up the joke and referenced it in an interview.

EXCLUSIVE🚨 : Newcastle United have accidentally left defender Matt Targett in Seoul, South Korea. The club discovered he was not on board yesterday's return flight upon its arrival back into Newcastle.

The club has confirmed he is safe and will board a flight home later today. pic.twitter.com/3sFonDFjRw

— Francis (@FrancisChipp) August 5, 2025

Chipp reported that, as the Newcastle squad were on the way back from their pre-season tour of Korea, Matt Targett had been left in the country, with the club only discovering he wasn't there once on the flight.

He then had to board his own flight home later in the day.

I mean, come on. I understand he's made it just about believable enough for some to get caught out, but it was actually a little scary just how many people thought it was real.

A Proud Day for the Barnes' Family

During Newcastle's comfortable 4-0 away victory against Union St Gilloise (no, I'm still not over how good the performance was) Harvey Barnes scored his first ever UEFA Champions League goal in a lovely moment for the winger.

But not only was it a special moment for Barnes himself, but it was also special for the whole Barnes family.

The goal meant that Harvey Barnes and John Barnes had become the first father-and-son duo to score for the same team in Champions League history.

BREAKING🚨⚫️⚪️: Harvey Barnes' goal against Union Saint-Gilloise means he and his father, John, are the first father and son to score for the same team in Champions League history. pic.twitter.com/6vnh0gqFG4

— Francis (@FrancisChipp) October 1, 2025

What a heartwarming, wholesome moment - reported by none other than, you guessed it ... our man Francis Chipp.

Another one that went relatively viral, getting 3.5 million impressions on X.

Now this one, I hope you would agree, is surely almost impossible to believe, or at least not to fact-check before coming to a conclusion.

But unfortunately for the state of society, that wasn't the case. The number of people asking 'Grok' whether the two were, in fact, related was quite frankly laughable.

Joe Willock's Maze Debacle

This one is the most recent, and, as you may have guessed by the rest of the stories mentioned, it once again gained a lot of interest on X.

In fact, it was only posted a day ago and already has 3.7 million impressions... Mental numbers.

Chipp reported yesterday that Joe Willock had to be rescued from York Maze, which is the biggest in the UK, after spending five hours stuck in there and having to make a distress call to emergency services.

EXCLUSIVE 🚨: Newcastle United midfielder Joe Willock, 26, had to be rescued from York Maze after a distress call to emergency services was made at around 5pm on Tuesday. He had been lost in the UK's largest maze for approximately six hours. pic.twitter.com/3WisZkWg9O

— Francis (@FrancisChipp) October 8, 2025

I mean... It's not completely impossible, is it? Definitely more plausible than the Harvey and John Barnes bit...

And actually, I'm not going to pass comment on how truthful this story is, but if you have anything at all about you, you'll make your mind up pretty quick I'm sure.