Fake Minns, altered images and psyop theories: Bondi attack misinformation shows AI’s power to confuse

For now many fakes are easy to spot. But audiences could find it increasingly difficult to tell fact from fiction as tech improves

• Full report: Bondi terror attack

• Victims of Bondi beach shooting

Misinformation, turbocharged by AI, was hard to avoid in the hours and days that followed the Bondi beach terror attack, as some platforms pushed dubious claims to users trying to find factual information.

The X for you" page, which serves up content determined by an algorithm, was filled with false details, including: that the attack that left 15 people dead was a psyop or false-flag operation; that those behind the attack were IDF soldiers; that those injured were crisis actors; that an innocent person was one of the alleged attackers; and that the Syrian Muslim hero who fought the attackers was a Christian with an English name.