Mayor of Kilkenny contacts gardaí over false AI generated images on social media

Sarah Slater

The Mayor of Kilkenny has contacted gardaí over false AI generated images being circulated on social media about him.

The Fianna Fáil mayor Andrew McGuinness, who is the son of TD John McGuinness, said he was informed on Monday last that he views as “a deliberate effort” to “create and “spread completely false stories” about him.

The mayor has confirmed that he is seeking to meet with Garda management later today and will be taking the matter further.

In a statement on his official Facebook page the councillor said the messages were being circulated in WhatsApp groups.

The councillor explained that at first, he laughed because he “genuinely thought it was some sort of joke”.

“Since then, however, it has become clear that there appears to be a deliberate effort to create and spread completely false stories about me.While I can see the funny side of some of it, it’s also disappointing that someone would invest so much time and energy into creating fiction."

“More importantly, I have children, family, friends and supporters who see this content too,” he added.

The 45-year-old said that “deliberately creating fake images and spreading false rumours crosses a line. It’s not just about me, it affects the people around me, and it’s important that I also look after my own mental wellbeing”.

The mayor outlined that he wanted to address the matter publicly.

‘The claims and images being circulated are completely false. It's amazing how some random individual with a sick sense of humor and a lot of time on their hands can fabricate such nonsense and cause a person's character to wrongly be questioned,” he continued.

“I won’t be giving this any more attention than it deserves, but I did feel it was important to call out this kind of behaviour for what it is. Needless to say I have reported all of this to Kilkenny Gardai”.

McGuinness was elected as Mayor of Kilkenny for the fourth time three weeks ago.