Norwegian Facebook admin uses AI to generate false image of king ahead of royal visit

A local Facebook page administrator in Askvoll, Norway, accidentally published an AI-generated image falsely depicting King Harald V ahead of the monarch’s scheduled visit to the municipality, *Dagbladet* reports.

Anthony Bauge, who runs the community page *Askvoll*, used artificial intelligence to create an informational graphic about the king’s visit but failed to verify the image before posting. The distorted likeness—described by Bauge as a “mix of King Harald and King Olav”—sparked immediate backlash in the comments section, with users pointing out both the visual inaccuracies and grammatical errors in the text.

“I was in the middle of my daughter’s football training when I posted it,” Bauge told *Dagbladet*. “I didn’t look closely—from a distance, it resembled the king. A few hours later, the damage was done.”

While Bauge acknowledged the mistake and called it a “lesson in always quality-checking AI outputs,” he chose not to delete the post, citing transparency. “I answer most of the comments and have added correct information from the municipality,” he said. He added that he had no intention to misinform or offend, though he admitted concern over potential reactions from the royal household.

The 89-year-old king’s four-day tour of Vestland county, which includes stops in Etne, Samnanger, and Vaksdal, concludes in Askvoll on Thursday. Local preparations have been underway for weeks, with residents decorating the town center in anticipation. Bauge described the community effort as a display of “remarkable volunteer spirit” and called the visit “fantastic for Askvoll.”

A *Dagbladet* reporter traveling with the king noted that the monarch has appeared in high spirits throughout the tour, engaging warmly with locals. “Fortunately,” the reporter said, “the real king—not an AI version—will arrive in Askvoll tomorrow.”