Anthony Albanese AI image incident — Sep 2024

On September 21, 2024, Liberal MP Jason Wood shared an AI-generated image on Facebook that falsely depicted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arriving at a deserted airport in the United States. The post used the fabricated image to suggest that the Prime Minister had been snubbed by officials during his trip to California.

What happened

The image was intended to support the claim that no one wanted to be associated with the Prime Minister, with the post captioning the scene as evidence of a diplomatic failure. However, genuine footage and photographs from the arrival at San Jose Mineta International Airport on September 19 showed that Mr. Albanese was greeted by a welcoming party, including Australia's ambassador to the US, Greg Moriarty, and was accompanied by media and security personnel.

Analysis of the shared image revealed several visual inconsistencies characteristic of AI generation. The fake image lacked background elements present in reality, such as trucks and fences, and featured shadows cast in conflicting directions. Furthermore, the AI-generated version of the aircraft contained significant errors, including an incorrect window layout and a reversed kangaroo logo. OpenAI's verification tool confirmed the image contained a SynthID watermark, indicating it was created using OpenAI software. Despite the evidence of fabrication, the image was shared widely across social media platforms. Mr. Wood's office did not provide a response when contacted for comment regarding the post.