Reform’s Tice accused of sharing AI photo

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Reform’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, has been accused of posting a picture that has been manipulated by AI. It shows a group of people standing on a sunny pavement in Birmingham, with placards that say “vote Reform”. The party insists the photo is real but says it was “slightly edited using AI” to increase the brightness. Eagle-eyed sleuths claim it contains elements that indicate heavier use of AI, including mismatched shadows and a hand with six fingers. AI-produced content has become a fixture of elections around the world. There have been fake endorsements by Bollywood actors in India, a resurrected dictator in Indonesia and cats carrying automatic weapons posted by Donald Trump. Tice’s image, if it is produced by AI, is less egregious. But it shouldn’t be surprising that the UK is also affected by this trend.