WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Images depict fallen Australian soldiers.
OUR VERDICT
False. The images have been created or manipulated using AI.
AAP FACTCHECK - Supposed images of fallen Australian soldiers have been created or manipulated using artificial intelligence (AI), introducing errors and distortions to the historical record.
Included are depictions of Blaine Diddams, who was killed in 2012 while serving in Afghanistan; Susan Felsche, who died in a plane crash in 1993 while serving in Western Sahara, and Tom Starcevich, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions during World War II.
The images have been used in posts commemorating the dead soldiers, but the use of AI has distorted features or created new images entirely, which appear to show different people from those they're meant to represent.
Peter Stanley, a historian at the University of NSW who specialises in Australia's involvement in wars, told AAP FactCheck the images were "all preposterous fakes", describing them as "pathetic and contemptible".
The images feature fictitious insignia and weapons, Professor Stanley said.
"I could enumerate half a dozen faults with each," he said. "There's no question these have been ineffectually modified by AI."
Sergeant Diddams was on his seventh tour of Afghanistan when he was killed during an engagement with insurgents, as reported by the Australian Army.
Facebook posts purportedly commemorating him appear significantly different from known photos of the soldier - and are also significantly different from each other.
One image appears to have been manipulated from an Australian Defence Force (ADF) photo, published in an ABC article, with slight changes to details in the original.
Rhys Crawley, a University of NSW history lecturer and author of the forthcoming Official History of Australian Operations in Afghanistan, 2005-2010, agreed none of the images posted on social media were "real" pictures of Sgt Diddams.
Dr Crawley told AAP FactCheck he "looked quite different" from the images shared online and the uniforms, as well as the patches, ribbons and insignia on the uniforms, were "all wrong".
Private Starcevich was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery during the 1945 Battle of Beaufort in North Borneo, according to the Australian government's Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA).
A number of online posts claim to show him serving in North Africa and the Pacific during World War II but the person in the images appears significantly different from DVA photos of Private Starcevich, taken during the war or soon after.
Private Starcevich's daughter, Lynette Starcevich, confirmed to AAP FactCheck the images were not of her father.
Prof Stanley said neither the uniform nor the gun in the fake images were used by Australian troops during the war.
Michael Madden, an author who has written about Australia's Victoria Cross recipients, including Private Starcevich, told AAP FactCheck the images were clearly created using AI.
"Those aren't even Australian uniforms or patches," he said.
Likewise, images shared of Susan Felsche depict a person in the incorrect uniform, while the Facebook post includes a number of incorrect details.
David Horner, an expert in Australia's military history at the Australian National University, has written about Major Felsche in the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
He told AAP FactCheck the supposed image of Major Felsche was fake.
"I'm not aware Susan Felsche was ever in the RAAF and therefore the photo of her in an RAAF uniform cannot be true," Professor Horner said.
While details in posts about Private Starcevich and Sgt Diddams appear consistent with those from official sources, the post about Major Felsche includes numerous inaccuracies.
It incorrectly states she was born in Sydney (she was born in Brisbane) and claims she was killed in a midair collision between two planes in the UK in 1987.
In fact, she was killed in Western Sahara in 1993 when a plane crashed not long after take-off.
Despite the post claiming she was the first woman to die in active military service for the ADF, she wasn't, instead being the first woman to die on overseas duty since World War II.
A spokesperson for the Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) expressed concern about images being manipulated and not accurately representing deceased service personnel, but said the posts appeared to have "genuine commemorative intent".
"Should you see instances of blatant photo manipulation and the use of fake images, we'd encourage you to report this to the social media provider and seek to have the images removed," the spokesperson said.
"While social media posts are difficult to police, the RSL will continue its monitoring and take action where it is able and necessary to do so to end distasteful practices."
AAP FactCheck has previously debunked a number of "historical photos" that have been manipulated or created using AI, including supposed depictions of the Holocaust, 9/11 and key events in Australian history.
Prof Stanley said he feared such technology would soon be used to spread and support unjustifiable interpretations of history.
"Historical understanding depends on the validity of the evidence. When that evidence becomes corrupted, falsehoods can flourish. This is a very serious matter for all who care about truthful history," he said.
"We're used to believing what we see," Toby Walsh, a professor in AI at the University of New South Wales, previously told AAP FactCheck. "We're now in a world where that is no longer the case.
"I fear that truth itself is under threat."
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