The distorted image showed the Prime Minister pouring a fairly poor pint as a staff member watched on (Picture: Simon Walker/No 10 Downing Street; Twitter)
A Labour MP has come under fire after sharing a deepfake image of Rishi Sunak.
Photoshop was used to distort the picture – shared on Twitter – taken at the Great British Beer Festival on Tuesday.
In the original image, a member of staff watches on as the Prime Minister has a go at pulling a pint.
But in the altered picture, the woman’s eyes have been edited to create a ‘side-eye’ expression.
A generous helping of extra foam has also been digitally added to the pint glass.
Labour MP for Hull East Karl Turner posted the picture on Twitter with the caption: ‘That’s nowt like the pints the pull in our local boozer.’
The post quickly gained attention on the social media platform, with many users questioning its authenticity.
Retweeting Mr Turner’s post, Science Secretary Michelle Donelan expressed her disapproval.
The edited picture had been shared widely across social media (Picture: Twitter)
She stated that the sharing of such a ‘fake image’ is ‘pretty desperate stuff by Labour’.
Ms Donelan – who was famously Education Secretary for 36 hours – wrote: ‘In the era of deepfakes and digitally distorted images, it’s even more important to be able to have reliable sources of information you can trust.
‘No elected member of Parliament should be misleading the public with fake images. This is pretty desperate stuff from Labour…’
Mr Turner later said he had not realised the image was a fake.
The original image – as shared by the No 10 official Twitter account (Picture: Simon Walker)
He apologised for sharing the image, writing on Twitter: ‘My apologies for sharing what turns out to be a fake image of the PM. But can I just say that Rishi Sunak needs to stop telling deliberate lies to the nation.
‘We desperately need a general election. Also my apologies for not attributing the image. I had no idea it was fake.’
The Labour MP also retweeted a video posted by a person claiming to have created the altered picture, in which he apologised for causing ‘a bit of trouble’ and said ‘it was never my intention to deceive anyone’.
Labour chairman of the Commons Business and Trade Committee Darren Jones came to Mr Turner’s defence, saying: ‘The real question is: how can anyone know if a photo is a deepfake?
Michelle Donelan had accused Karl Turner of ‘misleading the public’ (Picture: EPA)
‘I wouldn’t criticise Karl Turner for sharing a photo that looks real to me.
‘What is your Department doing to tackle deep fake photos, especially in advance of the next election?
‘Let’s have that discussion.’
The news comes after Martin Lewis warned of a ‘frightening’ new investment scam using a deepfake video of him.
The Money Saving Expert urged authorities to ‘step up’ and stop internet giants from publishing such content, saying people will lose money and ‘lives will be ruined’.
Highlighting the sophisticated new con on Twitter, he wrote: ‘This is a scam by criminals trying to steal money.
‘This is frightening, it’s the first deep fake video scam I’ve seen with me in it. Govt & regulators must step up to stop big tech publishing such dangerous fakes. People’ll lose money and it’ll ruin lives.’
Deepfakes have confused the public for several years, with fake photos of celebrities frequently doing the rounds online.
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The picture had been edited to make it look as though the Prime Minister had poured a poor pint.