A widely shared video appearing to show Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declaring the cancellation of visas for Pakistani nationals has been exposed as a digitally manipulated deepfake. An investigation has confirmed the footage is fabricated.
The original visuals are from a 2022 press conference in Canberra, where Prime Minister Albanese and Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen discussed climate change legislation. The audio in the viral clip has been artificially generated and replaced.
The fraudulent video emerged online following a deadly shooting incident in Sydney on December 14. At a Jewish festival near Bondi beach, Sajid Akram (50) and his son Naveed (24) opened fire, killing 15 people and injuring at least 24 others. Sajid Akram was shot dead by police, while Naveed was critically injured.
Authorities report that Sajid Akram had traveled to the Philippines a month prior on an Indian passport, and his son Naveed used an Australian passport. Indian officials have also visited the Akram family residence in Hyderabad, India, where Sajid's brother resides, to gather information.
The manipulated video was shared on social media with a caption falsely linking the Prime Minister's statement to the attack. Multiple AI detection tools have identified the voice in the clip as artificially generated.
No credible news outlet has reported any such visa cancellation announcement by the Australian government. Officials have not issued any statement matching the claims made in the deepfake video.
