Victorian Premier targeted with false flag disinformation

WHAT WAS CLAIMED

A photo shows Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan giving a press conference in front of Palestinian and rainbow flags.

OUR VERDICT

False. The image has been manipulated using artificial intelligence.

AAP FACTCHECK - An image of Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan giving a press conference in front of flags representing LGBTQI and pro-Palestinian causes has been manipulated using AI.

The flags in question are absent from genuine photos and videos of the press conference, and the fake image includes the watermark of a popular artificial intelligence (AI) tool.

"Does she have enough flags behind her?" a March 31 post sharing the image reads.

"The Victorian premier has no idea what team she is on. Well, if woke had to be summed up with a picture, this is it. What is going on in Victoria?"

The edited image shows Ms Allan at a lectern in front of eight flags: the Australian flag, the flag of the state of Victoria, the Australian Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag, along with a rainbow LGBTQI flag, a transgender pride flag, a Palestinian flag and a flag that appears to feature the Dome of the Rock at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque.

However, the image appears to be a manipulated version of a real photo posted on X by journalist Heidi Murphy on March 30.

That photo shows only four flags - the Australian flag, the flag of Victoria, the Australian Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag.

The edited image used in the March 31 Facebook post also included a watermark for X's AI assistant, Grok, in the bottom right-hand corner. 

The Grok watermark was cropped out of some versions of the manipulated image shared on X.

The premier's press conference was held on March 30 following the death of Victorian fugitive Dezi Freeman.

A Herald Sun video of the event also confirms only four flags were behind the premier. 

AAP FactCheck has previously debunked other false claims about Ms Allan, including a digitally manipulated video and fake quotes.

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