The ABC has had to issue a clarification after a guest on its Insiders program claimed that the No campaign was using “AI-Generated Indigenous characters” in its social media adverts.
John Paul Janke, former co-chair of the National NAIDOC Committee and current deputy chair, Indigenous Reference Group at the National Australian Museum, made the claim during a special program to discuss the upcoming Voice to Parliament referendum.
“Some of them now are using AI with black, Indigenous characters to try and look like it’s an Indigenous person supporting the No campaign,” he said.
“They are supporting obviously different voices and they are under the guise of moderate voices against the Voice, like it’s Australians for Unity but they are using AI of a black character that is supporting the No case.”
Insiders host Speers did not query the claim on air. However, shortly after the program aired the ABC issued a clarification on Janke’s statement showing that his accusation was not directed at the Australians for Unity campaign or Warren Mundine and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price personally.
Instead, Janke was talking about No campaign group Constitutional Equality which has used AI voice actors in some of its campaign videos.
“Insiders: On the program broadcast on Sunday, August 6, panellist John Paul Janke described the use of AI-generated videos by some opponents of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament,” the clarification read.
“The ABC wishes to clarify that the campaign coordinated by Warren Mundine and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price – Australians for Unity, is not affiliated with the videos being referred to.”
However, the No campaign has been found to have used stock images of Indigenous families rather than real people in its promotional materials.
Last month, the group launched its 15-page Fair Australia brochure which detailed why the campaign thought that the Voice would be “divisive, expensive and won’t close the gap.”
However, despite the Yes campaign pointing out the use of stock images saying: “They’re not fair dinkum. Googling supporters while pretending to represent real Australians.”
But the No campaign defended itself, saying the images were: “either licensed from commercial image agencies or taken by the campaign and published with appropriate permissions.”
