What was claimed
Former prime minister Tony Abbott debated his opponents in parliament and on TV after undergoing "major surgery."
Our verdict
False. There's no record of Mr Abbott undergoing surgery or appearing in the claimed debates.
AAP FACTCHECK - Tony Abbott hasn't appeared in parliament or on TV to debate political opponents after having major surgery, despite claims on social media.
Fake news about the former prime minister is spreading on Facebook after being published by a disinformation operation.
A page called Current Affairs has published several posts falsely claiming that Mr Abbott underwent major surgery before debating issues in parliament and on TV.
The posts all link users to an external website that's laden with ads and makes more false claims in a blog post that displays clear signs of AI generation.
One post claims the former Liberal prime minister has shared a "heartfelt update" after having surgery, claiming he has a "long road to full recovery" ahead.
"One truth stood out in his message: 'I’m fighting — but I can’t do it alone'," the post claims Mr Abbott said.
The claims are false. Mr Abbott hasn't shared an update about recent surgery and the quotes attributed to him have been fabricated; there's no record of them elsewhere.
The photo attached to the post is also generated by AI, according to Google's SynthID tool, which identifies whether an image was created with its AI tools.
Another widely shared post from the page claims Mr Abbott appeared in parliament recently and debated Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
"In a tense moment in Parliament, Anthony Albanese issued a sharp challenge to Tony Abbott: 'Do you really think this Parliament needs another reckless populist pretending to speak for ordinary Australians?'" the post quotes Mr Albanese as saying.
It claims Mr Abbott responded with: "'Prime Minister, the only thing I’m pretending is that your insult still carries any weight in this room."
Both quotes are fabricated.
Mr Abbott has not been a member of parliament since May 2019.
Another post claims the former prime minister had traded barbs "under the studio lights" with media commentator Waleed Aly on TV.
"The crowd stirred when Waleed Aly smirked and said: 'Tony Abbott, it’s easy to talk about freedom and conviction when you’ve spent a lifetime speaking from the comfort of outrage, wrapped in the safety of populist applause," it reads.
The post claims Mr Abbott replied: "'Waleed, I was walking into hostile rooms, facing protests, ridicule, and political exile while others debated ideas from behind studio desks'."
The quotes are fabricated; there's no record of them elsewhere and the former prime minister has not appeared on a television broadcast with Mr Aly.
AAP FactCheck has been routinely debunking Facebook pages that spread political disinformation, including those targeting Senator Pauline Hanson and Peta Credlin.
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