WHAT WAS CLAIMED
A bank chief executive stormed out of an ABC interview after an on-air spat.
OUR VERDICT
False. The story is fake and part of a scam.
AAP FACTCHECK - The Commonwealth Bank boss did not storm out of an ABC interview after a journalist revealed a secret investment platform, despite claims online.
The story, which appears on a mocked-up version of the ABC News website, is fictional and designed to direct social media users to click on suspicious links.
The false claim features in several Facebook adverts targeted at Australian social media users.
"WHAT WENT WRONG ON 7.30? Alan KOHLER VS MATT COMYN - WHAT SPARKED THE CLASH?" one advert reads alongside images of a disgruntled-looking Matt Comyn, Commonwealth Bank CEO, and ABC journalist Alan Kohler.
The advert features a link to a webpage designed to look like that of ABC News.
"'You're Lying to Millions of Australians': The 7.30 Confrontation Banks Try to Delete," the article's headline reads.
The article reports on a supposed interview between the bank executive and veteran journalist, overseen by 7.30 host Sarah Ferguson.
It claims Mr Kohler promoted an investment platform called Momentum Finspire that could mimic banking investment strategies that generate billions.
Mr Comyn then takes umbrage at Mr Kohler's supposed promotion of the platform.
"I have serious concerns about promoting these cryptocurrency schemes," Mr Comyn is claimed to have said.
After being repeatedly questioned about the platform, the article claims Mr Comyn stormed off set, and the episode never aired.
The story then features supposed testimonials for the platform along with links to "register now" with a suggested minimum investment of $350.
There are several indications the ABC News page is fake, however.
Despite a similar website layout, the URL is entirely unrelated.
None of the links that navigate to other pages of the fake ABC website work; the only working link is to Momentum Finspire's website.
Several of the article's images have an invisible watermark, indicating they have been created using Google's AI technology.
There is also no reputable record of this interview ever taking place.
The article also features a supposed user of Momentum Finspire: David Thompson, a 41-year-old concreter from Geelong.
However, a reverse image search reveals the image is actually of a UK-based artist, named Leo Murray.
Momentum Finspire isn't listed on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) website, a body responsible for regulating financial services in Australia.
Mr Kohler has written a piece about what he describes as a convincing scam on the ABC website.
"Not a word nor a photo of it was true. It was an AI fake. I won't link to it because it would draw more attention to it. The article was convincing," Mr Kohler wrote.
He's also posted on X that the supposed story is fake.
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