WHAT WAS CLAIMED
A photo shows Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arriving in the US alone, without a greeting party.
OUR VERDICT
False. The image is AI-generated.
AAP FACTCHECK - Liberal MP Jason Wood has posted a fake image of Anthony Albanese arriving at a deserted airport in the US, claiming it's evidence of a diplomatic snub.
Genuine photos of the prime minister's arrival show a small gathering of media, security and officials, while the social media image contains several visual inconsistencies suggesting it was made with artificial intelligence (AI).
Mr Albanese travelled to California on September 19 to meet former Apple CEO Tim Cook to discuss Australia's social media reforms and children's online safety.
His trip to California came ahead of him speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 24.
Liberal MP Jason Wood shared the fake image, which depicts Mr Albanese walking alone in a September 21 Facebook post.
"Looks like no one wants to be associated with Albo? Even a routine political delegation involving backbench MPs would normally involve engagement with US officials, AFP and representatives from the host country," the post reads.
"For a Prime Minister representing Australia overseas, that is a pretty extraordinary look. Albo the Albatross has now become No Friends Albo."
Other social media users also shared the fabricated image.
AAP FactCheck contacted Mr Wood's office but did not receive a response.
News footage shows the prime minister received a modest welcome upon arriving at San Jose Mineta International Airport on September 19.
Footage published by 9 News shows Mr Albanese was not alone on the tarmac and was greeted by a welcoming party that included Australia's ambassador to the US, Greg Moriarty, immediately after descending the stairs from the plane.
The video shows he then spoke to journalists on the tarmac (timestamp one minute 19 seconds).
Photos taken by Australian Associated Press photographer Mick Tsikas, who travelled to the US with the prime minister, also show him being greeted by Mr Moriarty.
The genuine footage includes trucks and fences in the background that are missing from the fake image shared online.
The image shared online also contains visual errors, including shadows that appear to be cast in different directions.
The placement of windows along the Air Force jet also doesn't match genuine photos of the aeroplane, with an additional window added to the AI version underneath the word 'royal' on the side of the plane.
Additionally, the kangaroo logo near the front of the plane faces backwards in the AI-generated image but forwards on the real thing.
OpenAI's verification tool shows the image contains a SynthID watermark confirming it was generated using OpenAI software.
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