A quick look at the above image and you may see Pauline Hanson and British journalist Laura Kuenssberg in an explosive argument on live television.
Take a closer look and it’s pretty clear the scene is not a genuine television moment but a highly realistic AI-generated deepfake, designed to mimic reality with unsettling precision.
It’s just one example of a wave of AI generated images infiltrating Australian politics and flooding social media at the moment. The worst part? A quick look at the comment section underneath the image on Facebook and it’s clear that far too many people are taking it at face value.
“Go Pauline if One Nation gets into power the media and major parties will have a lot of questions to answer, it goes back a few years ago,” one user wrote.
“You go Pauline YES YES YES,’ writes one.
“Well done Pauline. Keep going, we are behind you all the way” says another.
The deepfake image was posted to Facebook by a page called ‘Voices of the Nation’ which describes itself as an ‘entertainment website’ and fan page dedicated to news, opinions, and public discussions surrounding Pauline Hanson.
“By the time Laura Kuenssberg yelled, “ENOUGH! STOP! GET HER OUT OF HERE BEFORE IT GOES ANY FURTHER!” the damage was already done. The studio had transformed into a tense, unforgettable live-streamed confrontation – and all eyes were on Pauline Hanson,” the caption reads, with a link to a more in depth fake news story.
A quick scroll through the page and you’ll see countless deepfake images of Pauline Hason that attempt to present themselves as real news stories.
Another post by the page depicts Hanson and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in an argument on live television, with many comments indicating people believe what they are seeing is real.
It’s far from the first time deepfake images have been deployed to mislead the Australian public online.
In 2024, deepfake images of Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and Foreign Minister Penny Wong were used in deepfake investment scam videos.
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie and former prime minister Scott Morrison have also had their faces used in scams through Facebook videos, as reported by Guardian Australia.
Poor AI literacy as One Nation surges in the polls
These posts, and the reaction to them online, are key examples of how poor the public’s AI literacy is. It’s particularly concerning given the rise of One Nation and Pauline Hanson’s popularity in the polls in recent months.
There’s no denying that Hanson, and her new colleague Barnaby Joyce are succeeding in their mission to shift the public debate to the extreme, especially on issues like immigration.
With decades of political experience under her belt, Hanson is already a pro at manipulating the mainstream media to get her message out there. You only need to look at her recent racist remarks about Muslims and the wall-to-wall coverage that followed to see how effective she can be.
But now, AI generated images depicting Hanson in fierce debates with other politicians and journalists that simply never happened are helping her cause.
Disinformation and deepfakes are front and centre online and they are rapidly shaping how Australians consume news and form opinions. And it’s not just deepfake images and videos we need to be wary of.
Ahead of the 2025 federal election, nearly nine in 10 Australians said they were concerned AI-altered images make it harder to distinguish fact from fiction. More than half said they were ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ concerned about ‘fake news’.
Meanwhile, 23 per cent were at heightened risk of falling victim to disinformation as they “rarely” or “never” fact checked political news before believing or sharing it.
It’s not just here in Australia where the use of generative AI to shift political outcomes is a concern. It’s affecting democracies across the globe. In 2024, a fake robocall impersonated Joe Biden using a synthetic voice, telling voters in New Hampshire to skip their primary vote.
AI controlled bots on social media are now able to significantly sway public opinion by creating a false impression of widespread support or opposition for a political candidate.
And that’s just what’s broken the surface.
As democracies, including ours here in Australia, come under pressure from populist, far-right politics, it’s never been more critical for citizens to educate themselves and utilise digital literacy to discern their online worlds. Politicians like Hanson rely on us staying ignorant.