WHAT WAS CLAIMED
A photo shows Bondi Beach shooter Naveed Akram meeting with India's defence attache in Manila.
OUR VERDICT
False. The photo was created using artificial intelligence.
AAP FACTCHECK - A fake photo of Bondi Beach shooter Naveed Akram meeting with an Indian military official in the Philippines is being shared online.
The image was generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
Sajid Akram, 50, and his 24-year-old son Naveed opened fire on a Jewish event at a beachside park, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens, on December 14, 2025.
Sajid was shot dead by police, while Naveed remains under police guard in hospital.
Authorities have confirmed the pair travelled to the Philippines before the attack, with media reports suggesting it was to receive military-style training.
A Facebook post claims that a photo shows Naveed Akram meeting with India's Defence Attache to the Philippines, Captain Kant Kothari, at a fast-food restaurant in Manila.
"Breaking News: Philipine [sic] OSINT community releases exclusive images of Bondi Beach shooter Naveed Akram with The Defense Attaché of India to the Philippines, Captain Kant Kothari in Manila," the caption reads.
"50 years old Shooter Sajid Akram along 24 years old Shooter Naveed Arkam [sic], visited Philipines [sic] on Indian passport before the Bondi Beach attack."
This claim is false.
Google's 'About this image' tool identifies the image as 'Made with Google AI' because it contains a SynthID watermark, a digital watermark embedded directly into AI-generated images, audio, text or video.
The digital watermarks cannot be detected by the human eye but can be identified in the content's pixels, according to Google.
The image appears to have originated from an X account that regularly shares AI-generated content targeting India, according to IFCN-certified Indian fact-checking outfit, Boom.
There are also some visible distortions in the image, a hallmark of AI-generated content.
For example, the text on the chicken bucket on the table is illegible and the font, imagery and colouring differ from Jollibee's current branding.
Naveed Akram also did not travel to the Philippines on an Indian passport.
Sajid Akram first came to Australia on a student visa in 1998, later switching to a partner visa in 2001 and eventually obtaining a resident return visa, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed at a press conference.
Indian police said the 50-year-old was an Indian citizen, originally from the city of Hyderabad, according to Reuters.
At the time of writing, Australian authorities have not publicly confirmed this.
However, Mr Burke has confirmed that the younger Akram was born in Australia.
The Philippines Bureau of Immigration also confirmed that the 24-year-old had entered the country on an Australian passport with his father on November 1, 2025, the ABC reported.
The bureau said his father had travelled on an Indian passport, Reuters reported.
The pair declared the southern city of Davao in the island of Mindanao as their destination before departing the Philippines together on November 28, according to the report.
While there, the pair underwent "military-style training", security sources told the ABC.
Mindanao has a long history of Islamic militancy and is a known hotspot for groups such as Islamic State.
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