A powerful Liberal Party leader has come under fire for a bizarre Photoshop error while campaigning during Dunkley’s by-election campaign.
Candidate and former three-time local mayor Nathan Conroy was photographed alongside Senator Jane Hume, Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and several volunteers campaigning on the ground in the seat, which is located in Frankston, Victoria, in February.
But upon closer inspection, the image appears to actually be two separate shots superimposed, and makes it look like there are more people campaigning than there really are.
Both Senator Hume and Mr Conroy appear twice in the image, as does a Liberal volunteer. A volunteer and Mr. Conroy wear a hat in the image at the front of the photograph, while they are hatless in the back of the frame.
Both Senator Hume and Mr Conroy appear twice in the image, as does a Liberal volunteer.
The Liberal Party has been widely mocked for the image. Pictured: Opposition leader Peter Dutton.
Mrs Hume, opposition finance spokesperson, said of the image: ‘Today, accompanied by some absolutely bonkers Liberals in the pre-election booth!
“Lots of support for Nathan Conroy on the ground.”
Critics were quick to point out the bizarre photo mishap on social media, questioning whether the Liberal Party was “playing the fool… or someone has hijacked their feed.”
Others described the incident as “hilarious.”
‘Hume, Hume, Conroy, Conroy and the man with the glasses, the man with the glasses.’
Conroy gained a swing of 3.8 per cent on Saturday, but it was not enough to defeat Labor candidate Jodie Belyea, who will take the place of her friend Peta Murphy, who tragically died at the age of 50 late last year .
“Dunkley was never a marginal seat… but, damn, it’s a marginal seat now,” Mrs Hume said.
Ms. Belyea and Ms. Murphy were good friends and have similar positions on issues close to Ms. Murphy’s heart.
ABC election analyst Antony Green awarded the seat to Labor with 59 per cent of the votes counted at 8.45pm on Saturday.
Conroy won a swing of 3.8 per cent of the vote, but it was not enough to defeat Labor candidate Jodie Belyea.
On Saturday, he claimed the opposition had outspent Labor in the run-up to the by-election, which he described as a “negative right-wing campaign” fueled by money from anonymous billionaires.
“We’ve seen people in this electorate be inundated with misinformation and fear on Facebook and in all the advertising that’s been done,” Albanese said.
Belyea promised to “bat for the fighters” while speaking of his connections to the community.
Liberal senator Jane Hume praised Conroy for his efforts on Saturday night.
“Dunkley was never a marginal seat… but, damn, it’s a marginal seat now,” Mrs Hume said.
Conroy was local mayor three times before running in the by-election.
The photoshop fiasco has been mocked online and compared to a recent incident in which Channel 9 was caught photoshopping Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell.
Ms Purcell appeared in the Nine News newsletter after she publicly criticized Premier Jacinta Allan’s decision not to ban duck hunting in Victoria.
The image used by Nine also showed Ms Purcell wearing a crop top that showed off her bare midriff. She said it also seemed like the image of her had enhanced her bust.
Purcell noted that this couldn’t have been his body for a very obvious reason: he has had his stomach tattooed since 2020.
9News Melbourne director Hugh Nailon humiliatedly apologized to Ms Purcell, saying “Photoshop automation created an image that was not consistent with the original”.
Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell, 31, hit out online via X (formerly Twitter) for using a photoshopped photo to make her breasts look bigger. In her post, the heavily tattooed politician shared the image from the segment (left) along with the original photo (right).