‘Epping mums’ image is AI creation

An AI-generated picture claiming to show a group of “Epping mums” with their daughters has been shared thousands of times online, without making clear that it isn’t real.

While it is true that women wearing pink have taken part in protests outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, the widely shared image showing a group of women and girls wearing pink, with overlaid text that reads “Epping Mums to Effing Labour” has actually been made using artificial intelligence (AI).

A tell-tale sign is that uncropped versions have the watermark for ‘Grok’ in the bottom right-hand corner.

Grok is the generative AI chatbot created by Elon Musk’s startup, xAI, which allows users to generate realistic images from text prompts and is integrated with X (formerly Twitter).

Other clues that the image was made using AI include an arm that is not attached to a body in the bottom left-hand corner of the image and several instances of distorted fingers, hands and flags.

One post has been shared more than 5,400 times on Facebook and while many have responded pointing out discrepancies indicating it was made with AI, some comments, including “My caption: women who would like to be safe” suggest that others think it is real.

There have been a series of anti-immigration protests and counter-demonstrations outside The Bell Hotel since July, after an asylum seeker who had been housed there was arrested and subsequently jailed for 12 months for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman. The image has been circulating after a temporary injunction that blocked asylum seekers from being housed at the Essex hotel was overturned at the Court of Appeal on 29 August.

One Facebook post also includes what seems to be another AI-generated image of a group of women and girls wearing pink. Signs this was made using AI include distorted flags hovering in space without anyone holding them on the right of the image, and ‘the bell’ sign in the background not having any resemblance to The Bell Hotel in Epping.

Full Fact has previously fact checked images that were shared as if they were genuine, but which were almost certainly AI creations by Grok—including a picture which appeared to show the iconic Hollywood sign on fire, one of Bono and Bob Geldof holding Israeli flags, and another of ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad with Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson in Moscow.

Before sharing images you see on social media, it’s important to consider whether what you are seeing is genuine. Our toolkits on how to identify misleading media and AI-generated content can help you do this.