After becoming the subject of widespread speculation that he’s AI-generated, a newly elected member of the Norfolk County Council in eastern England has insisted that he is, in fact, real.
Claims that Boyd is nothing more than a pixelated aspiring politician began gaining traction after voters had trouble finding much of a digital footprint for the candidate and a headshot used in his campaign material struck some as bearing the hallmarks of artificial intelligence.
“Of course I exist. You can’t get nominated for election unless you’re a real person,” George Boyd, who was elected last week to represent Waveney Valley on the council, told the Eastern Daily Press.
Grok, the conversational AI chatbot integrated into social media platform X, reinforced the suspicions shared online. Asked to assess the photo’s authenticity, it cited a polished, airbrushed look typical of AI tools and perfect lighting and symmetry, concluding that the image is “very likely AI-generated.”
It turns out AI was used to enhance the photo of the Reform UK party representative with a rural background, but didn’t create the image outright. In a world where increasingly realistic-looking AI-generated images routinely fool people, this situation demonstrates that real photos can just as easily be mistaken for fakes.
The Norfolk County Council oversees large-scale public services in the region, including highways and transportation, housing and waste disposal. The council didn’t immediately respond to a request for a comment on Boyd, but a video interview with Thomas Copeland of the BBC Verify team shows the council member in the flesh making the case that he’s not computer-generated.
“I am not AI,” he said. “I can’t meet every single person in the country and shake their hand and say, ‘Look, I am the real person.”
An Explanation For The Photo
Colin Sutton, chair of Reform UK’s Waveney Valley branch, also attempted to correct the misconception as claims of Boyd’s inauthenticity spread on X, Facebook and Reddit.
“I was responsible for drafting George’s election leaflets,” Sutton wrote on X. “He sent me the photo, which was him against a white background. As all the other leaflets in my constituency had a background, I used AI to create a countryside background, which was the photo used on his leaflet.”
Sutton also said he’d met Boyd on many occasions.
“George is alive, well, exists, looks just like these pictures and will be an excellent councillor for Waveney Valley,” Sutton wrote.
On May 10, the South Norfolk Reform UK Facebook page posted a photo of Boyd posing with supporters along with a statement from him upon being elected.
“After the end of an eventful few days I would like to thank the voters of Waveney Valley Division for putting their trust in me to be their new county councillor,” the statement reads. “It has been a fulfilling couple of months trekking the country lanes and speaking with local residents.”
Those words, however, didn’t appear to satisfy skeptics.
Facebook user Andrew Durling requested a closer look at Boyd. Nick Widdowson went even further, writing, “Does. Not. Exist.”
While AI avatars have helped citizens navigate government services, it appears we have yet to see an entirely AI-generated politician serving the public — even if some voters now seem primed to believe otherwise.
