AI image of Australian state premier with eight flags misleads social media users
- Published on April 9, 2026 at 05:15
- 2 min read
- By Dene-Hern CHEN, AFP Australia
Australia's Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan had four flags displayed behind her during a press conference in March, contrary to social media posts that falsely shared an AI-altered image depicting her with LGBTQ and transgender pride flags, as well as the Palestinian flag. The image was manipulated using X's AI assistant Grok, while the premier's office told AFP that the photo was fake.
"Victoria's premier rocking a terrorist flag," reads an X post shared on March 30, 2026.
The post shares an image of Allan at a podium with eight flags behind her, including the Palestinian flag and what appeared to be a green flag with Arabic writing on it. Besides the flags of Australia and Victoria state there are also the rainbow LGBTQ and the trans pride flags.
The image was also shared by Turning Point Australia's Facebook page and groups that have criticised the ruling Labor Party, which Allan is a part of.
User comments indicated they believed the photo was authentic, with some disparaging the number of flags and saying there should be "one Australian flag only".
"Pathetic. Why not display every flag from every country. Trying to get voting numbers at any cost," said one comment.
But the image was altered with AI and a representative from the Victoria Premier's Office dismissed the claim as "fake content."
Four flags
A reverse image search on Google found a near identical photo published on X by an Australian reporter on the same day (archived link).
The photo shows Allan speaking at a press conference on March 30, about the death of fugitive Desmond Freeman, who was shot dead after having evaded authorities for the killing of two police officers in August last year (archived here and here).
In the Australian reporter's photo and in another video published by local Australian media, only four flags can be seen behind her (archived link).
A "Grok" watermark can also be seen on the bottom righthand corner -- a sign that the image has been through processing by X's AI assistant Grok.
The AI-manipulated image can also be found posted as a reply to the original X post (archived link). The same user added another flag after suggestions from another user (archived link).
The image also contained visual inconsistencies. An AFP digital verification editor covering the Middle East said the letters on the green flag at the rightmost corner are merged and do not make any sense. The same flag also did not match any official flags, with its insignia an imitation of the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem's Islamic sanctuary.
The representative from Allan's office also confirmed to AFP that there were only four flags behind her -- the Australian national flag, the Victoria state flag, the Australian Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag (archived here, here, here and here).
AFP has previously debunked false claims surrounding flags displayed with Australian politicians.
Copyright © AFP 2017-2026. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
