AI-generated image falsely shows Hong Kong lawmaker Joephy Chan crouching on desk
An image of Joephy Chan Wing-yan, a member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, seemingly crouching on a desk while speaking during a meeting has spread widely among Hong Kong internet users since July 31.
One version of the image, which includes the words “breaking news” in the top-left corner above the on-screen speech timer, have appeared on Facebook (here and here), Threads, and a local forum, HK Golden.
Many posts and comments questioned Chan’s alleged conduct as a legislator. One Threads post that drew over 7,000 likes reads, “[Does she] come from the mainland?” in Chinese, a derogatory reference likening Chan’s gesture to mainland tourists squatting on the street.
However, Annie Lab can confirm that this image was generated using an AI model. We ran the image with Google DeepMind’s SynthID Detector tool, which found the invisible AI watermark all over the image.
SynthID is imperceptible to the human eyes and ears but it withstands digital modifications such as compression, screen capture, cropping, or application of visual and audio filters. It is now adopted by many tech companies including Google, Open AI, Nvidia, and ElebLabs.
It is the second time in less than a month that the Federation of Trade Unions politician has been targeted by misinformation.
Another local fact-checking organization, Factcheck Lab, recently debunked a fabricated quote attributed to Chan about an arrest under the National Security Law related to a local bookstore in mid-July.
In the recorded LegCo House Committee meeting on July 16, a frame at around 30:09 shows Chan seated and asking a question.
This video frame was used by Factcheck Lab in its story, and the cropped area highlighted in red in the picture below is almost identical to the viral image.
Details in the viral image, such as the posture and clothing of the person next to Chan, and Chan’s outfit, match the screenshot, except for Chan’s pose, implying that the source material for the AI-created image was a photo or a video taken on July 16.
Chan appears again later in the recorded meeting, between 31:51 and 32:13, asking a question in a normal posture.
In the viral image, the “breaking news” text was added above the on-screen speech timer found in the LegCo’s broadcast feed.
In the AI-generated version, the Chinese character “秒 (seconds)” in the speech timer is distorted, an artifact typically seen in images created by AI models.
In a statement, Chan denied the previously circulated fabricated quote and condemned the creation of fake images impersonating her to smear law enforcement, calling it an act of “soft resistance,” Wen Wei Po reported on July 17 (archived here).
