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Staff error behind AI-generated nurse post, says MP

Rob MayorBlack Country political reporter
UK Parliament The MP Sureena Brackenridge is looking directly at the camera. The background is grey. She has dark long hair and is wearing a red jacket. UK Parliament
Sureena Brackenridge, Labour MP for Wolverhampton North East, said the post should have made clear the story of Maya was illustrative

MP Sureena Brackenridge says there was no intention to mislead people after a story about a fictional nurse was posted on her social media channels.

The post, about "Maya" who was struggling to find affordable housing, appeared on the Wolverhampton North East Labour MP's feeds last month.

After being highlighted as AI-generated by charity Full Fact, the post was deleted from X and edited on Facebook to say "Maya is fictional, but this is the reality for millions of working people".

Councillor Simon Bennett, leader of the Conservatives on City of Wolverhampton Council, said people wanted "honesty and transparency" from elected officials.

After the post had been edited, Brackenridge said: "While the intention was to communicate policy in an accessible way, it should have been made clear from the outset that the image and accompanying narrative were illustrative rather than depicting a real individual."

Sureena Brackenridge An AI edited image of a street shows a woman in a blue nurses uniform, standing next to a terraced house with a schoolgirl in a dark blue jumper holding a multi coloured school bag. A bus is approaching in the background.Sureena Brackenridge
The post contained an image showing "Maya" posing outside a house with a schoolgirl, but it has now been edited to make clear both are fictional

She explained a member of her staff had posted the item.

"As soon as the issue was brought to my attention, the post was amended to make this clear," she explained.

Brackenridge said procedures in her office had been changed to ensure the post could not happen again.

But Bennett said: "If you are using a fictional character and an AI-generated image to make a political point, that should be made crystal clear from the outset.

"This is about trust. When politicians share stories online, people should be able to know whether they are reading about a real constituent, a real worker, or a fictional example created to make a political argument."

Earlier this year Brackenridge's husband, a former Mayor of Wolverhampton, resigned from his council seat after he was found to have falsely claimed to have served as a Royal Marine.

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