It’s as if a mischievous digital puppeteer in Vietnam is pulling strings to make up wild stories about familiar Australian faces, especially this one guy, Ben Roberts-Smith. Imagine sitting at home, scrolling through your social media feed, and suddenly seeing a dramatic photo of a figure you recognize – this former SAS soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith. The picture shows him, supposedly, being arrested at Sydney Airport, looking utterly distraught, and then another of him in a courtroom witness box, as if he’s about to burst into tears. And then, the accompanying text reads that he “burst into tears,” claiming, “I am not guilty, I did not do that, I have been wronged.” It sounds like something straight out of a low-budget drama, but the disturbing part is, it’s all completely made up. These images and quotes are not real; they are the work of artificial intelligence, designed to look convincing but upon closer inspection, reveal their digital origins.
These fabricated tales aren’t just one-off incidents; they’re part of a larger, coordinated effort. Several social media pages, all operating from Vietnam, have been churning out a steady stream of fake news about prominent Australians. It’s like a factory of falsehoods, and each post comes with a link in the comments that leads to a website absolutely crammed with ads. It’s a double whammy: disinformation and an attempt to generate revenue from clicks. So, while you’re being misled, someone else is making money off your engagement. The sheer volume of these posts suggests a deliberate strategy to sow confusion and perhaps even damage reputations, all from a distance, hidden behind the anonymity of the internet.
Let’s break down the “arrest” and “courtroom” spectacle. The social media posts depict Roberts-Smith being apprehended by police and then appearing in court. But here’s the reality check: while Roberts-Smith was indeed arrested on April 7, 2026, and charged with serious war crimes, his actual bail hearing was a much more subdued affair. He wasn’t in the courtroom physically; instead, he appeared via videolink from Silverwater prison. So, the dramatic images of him being escorted through an airport terminal and sitting in a witness box, supposedly weeping and declaring his innocence, are pure fiction. The official footage of his actual arrest, released by the Australian Federal Police, looks nothing like the images circulating online. The social media images even have digital watermarks confirming they were “Made with Google AI,” and if you look closely at the courtroom scene, you’ll see jumbled, nonsensical text in the background – a tell-tale sign of AI-generated content. It’s a digital ghost in the machine, creating scenes that never happened.
The fabrications don’t stop there. Another outrageous claim involves Roberts-Smith supposedly releasing a “brutal video” found on the phone of a man accused of murder, Jefferson Lewis. The posts invent a scenario where Roberts-Smith speaks out about this alleged footage at Lewis’s court hearing. Again, accompanying these claims are fabricated images of police escorting Lewis and him sitting in court. The truth? Lewis hadn’t even appeared in court in person or via videolink when these posts were made. He was due for an appearance, but it was excused at his lawyer’s request. Just like the previous examples, there are no credible reports of Roberts-Smith releasing any video or making any statements related to this case. And, surprise, surprise, the images related to this story also carry the “Made with Google AI” watermark. In one particularly amusing blunder, a plaque in the background of an AI-generated image of Lewis outside the courthouse clearly reads: “AUSTRALIAN COURT DA NANG VIETNAM.” It’s an obvious slip-up, revealing the foreign origin of these deceptive images and highlighting the carelessness of their creators.
The disinformation campaign even attempts to manufacture a feud between Roberts-Smith and a real journalist, Liam Bartlett from 7News Spotlight. One post ludicrously claims that Bartlett dismissed a serious murder as “just another normal incident” and “not worth making such a big fuss over,” and then, in turn, Roberts-Smith supposedly publicly condemned these insensitive remarks. Both statements are entirely fabricated; there’s no record of either ever being uttered. Another post creates a scenario where Bartlett criticizes Roberts-Smith during an Anzac Day commemoration, prompting a swift retort from the former soldier, who is quoted as saying, “Respect is earned in silence, not demanded in noise. I served so you could speak freely today.” While Roberts-Smith did attend an Anzac Day service, there’s no evidence he made such a statement, nor is there any evidence of Bartlett speaking at an official Anzac Day event or making the comments attributed to him. It’s a game of “he said, she said” where “he” and “she” are both digital constructs, designed to stir up controversy and engagement.
What we’re witnessing is a sophisticated, albeit flawed, campaign of online manipulation. These Vietnamese-operated disinformation pages are not just spreading misinformation; they’re actively creating it, using AI to generate compelling but fake visuals and crafting narratives that play on public interest and existing tensions. The motivation appears to be a blend of financial gain (through ad-laden websites) and perhaps geopolitical influence or simply the thrill of online mischief. It’s a stark reminder that in the digital age, what we see and read online should always be met with a healthy dose of skepticism. The emotional images and dramatic quotes are designed to grab attention, but behind the digital curtain, there’s often nothing but fabrication. It’s a testament to the importance of organizations like AAP FactCheck, working diligently to expose these falsehoods and ensure that the truth, however less dramatic, ultimately prevails.