Council apologises after posting AI-generated image of village clean-up

A council has apologised after they posted an AI image of the results f a village clean up.

Reform UK has issued an apology following AI photograph that claimed to show the results of a community tidy-up in the Kent village of Sarre.

Party volunteers gathered last Friday to clean up a road sign and gate at the village boundary, located close to Margate.

When before and after images appeared on social media, however, it became apparent that AI had been employed to enhance the supposed improvements.

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The manipulated photograph depicted fencing of an impossibly brilliant white shade, whilst the neighbouring pavement appeared freshly laid, as if new tarmac had been applied.

A vehicle visible in both photographs remained in precisely the same spot.

The doctored image contained several telltale signs of digital manipulation.

Beyond the gleaming white fence panels, the AI had inexplicably added an additional slat to the structure that was absent in the original photograph.

The footpath beside the village entrance appeared immaculate, giving the impression it had been completely resurfaced rather than simply cleaned.

Perhaps the most obvious sign was the stationary car, which occupied an identical position in both the before and after shots.

The clouds overhead and shadows cast on the ground also remained completely unchanged between the two images, suggesting the transformation had supposedly happened immediately.

The mistake drew criticism from rival politicians.

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Mike Sole, who leads the Liberal Democrats on Canterbury city council, described the incident as "a lesson in how not to use AI".

"The village gateway is now newly painted and the pavement resurfaced, yet the car, clouds and shadows are unchanged," he remarked. "That's either superhuman work in the blink of an eye, or Reform are not telling the truth."

His comments highlighted the implausibility of the claimed improvements occurring within moments whilst every other element of the scene remained frozen in time.

The party's Herne Bay and Sandwich branch attributed the error to volunteer staff in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The branch explained the incorrect image had been "selected and uploaded in error due to an administrative oversight".

Officials stressed the local Facebook page operates independently of Reform UK headquarters and its professional communications team, being run entirely by unpaid volunteers.

The branch maintained the community clean-up at Sarre's village entrance genuinely took place as originally described, despite the fabricated imagery.

The original social media post has since been amended to display an authentic photograph from the Clean Up Britain Day event.

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