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 - A photo of Anthony Albanese arriving at a US airport to an empty tarmac is being shared online, but it's fake.
Genuine photos of the prime minister's arrival show a small gathering of media, security and officials, while the image on social media contains several visual inconsistencies indicating it was made with artificial intelligence (AI).
The image appeared online after 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 took place before he spoke at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 24.
A September 24 Facebook post sharing the AI image compared Mr Albanese's arrival to the welcome China's leader, Xi Jinping, received on a state visit to the US that same week.
The top image in the post depicts Mr Albanese walking alone on an airport tarmac, with only an Australian Air Force jet in the background.
The second image shows US President Donald Trump welcoming the Chinese president to the US in Maryland on September 23 with a red carpet and a B-1 bomber flyover.
Other social media posts used the image to criticise Mr Albanese, describing the scene as an "absolute humiliation" and accusing him of being a "fraud".
However, news footage shows the prime minister received a modest welcome upon arriving in California 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 does not match genuine photos of the aeroplane.
OpenAI's verification tool shows the image contains a SynthID watermark, confirming it was generated using OpenAI software.
AFP Fact Check also found the image was AI-generated.
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