AI images fuel hoax about ex-Australia PM 'defecating at McDonald's'

This article is more than one year old.
Published on January 10, 2024 at 08:07
Updated on January 10, 2024 at 08:28
3 min read
By AFP Australia

Images that bear the hallmarks of artificial intelligence appearing to show former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison soiling himself are the latest reincarnation of a baseless rumour that has hounded the ex-leader for years. The story originated as a joke on social media platform X, according to the user who first posted it. Morrison has also described rumours of the alleged toileting mishap at a McDonald's restaurant in 1997 as "the biggest urban myth ever".

"Scott Morrison's visits to Engadine Maccas," reads a Facebook post which shared the AI-generated pictures on November 11, 2023.

The images supposedly illustrate an old urban myth that the former Australian prime minister soiled himself after his Rugby League team Cronulla Sutherland-Sharks lost to the Brisbane Broncos in the Super League Grand Final in 1997 (archived link).

The baseless allegation cites a McDonald’s restaurant -- nicknamed 'Maccas' in Australia -- in the south Sydney suburb of Engadine.

The branch has since gained national fame, being bombarded with reviews (here, here and here) giving a nod to alleged incident (archived links here, here and here).

Morrison referenced the urban legend several times throughout his prime ministership, including at a parliamentary press dinner in 2019 where he joked that what really happened at the fast-food outlet would remain "the mystery of the ages" (archived link).

But he eventually addressed the claim in 2021, telling Australian radio it was untrue.

"It is the biggest urban myth ever, it never happened. It is complete and utter rubbish," he told KIIS 1065.

Meanwhile, the person who first posted about the alleged incident in 2018 admitted it was just a joke (archived link).

But Australians continue to flood social media with posts referencing the rumour.

AI paints the picture

The Facebook post from November 2023 uses AI imagery to produce faked images of the fictitious Morrison mishap.

Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on November January 2, 2024.

While images generated with artificial intelligence are increasingly realistic, visual clues can help expose their inauthenticity.

The images in the Facebook post show a man of Morrison's likeness at first glance, but a closer look shows errors typical of AI-generated material.

Inconsistencies include the shape and form of his fingers in some of the images. In another image, the man pictured appears to have no feet and is wearing two watches.

AI-generated image from post.

AI-generated image from post.

The Facebook post is not the first time that manipulated media has given life to the Morrison myth.

In 2020, a YouTuber posted a video "testing the waters of a 'deepfake' lip sync technology" (archived link).

Another altered image shared in 2019 on X -- then Twitter --also attempted to paint the scene (archived link).

Joke story

Speaking on the popular Hello Sport podcast on April 28, 2023, musician Rowan Dix -- known by his stage name Joyride -- revealed he inadvertently set off the allegations with an off-the-cuff post on social media site X more than five years ago (archived links here, here and here).

He told the podcast "it's a funny thing" to imagine "a well-known person" soiling themself in a McDonald's.

"The intention was never for it to be a rumour," he said.

TikTok users took to the podcast's comments, with some expressing disbelief.

"Wait that is a fake rumor?!?" one user wrote.

"That is an internationally believed story!" they added.

AFP has debunked other misinformation about Morrison here and here.

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