Sharing 'AI drowning' image was joke - politician

Susan Hall said the social media post was meant as a "joke"

An elected London official has said a social media post that she responded to which featured an AI image of the mayor of London struggling in water was "meant as a lighthearted joke".

Susan Hall, Conservative member on the London Assembly, shared the post on 6 April, a day after police confirmed that a 15-year-old boy had drowned in south-east London.

Earlier in the same week, police launched a recovery operation after an 11-year-old girl got into difficulty in the River Thames.

Hall said the post, which featured a fake image of Labour's Sir Sadiq Khan in a large body of water, "bore no relation to any other news story". The mayor has been contacted by the BBC for comment.

The original post on X featured the AI image and said "What would you throw to save Khan?".

Hall re-posted it with the words: "A ULEZ camera ……"

Hall said: "I was responding to a joke on X - which is something I often do - clearly it bore no relation to any other news story.

"It was meant as a lighthearted joke, as many of my tweets are, and certainly not intended to be taken seriously."

The Greater London Authority (GLA) code of conduct states that elected members must "treat others with respect".

It further states that members "must not conduct yourself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing your office or authority into disrepute".

'Beyond the pale'

Leonie Cooper, Labour assembly member for Merton and Wandsworth, said she had complained to the GLA's monitoring officer over Hall's social media post.

Cooper said: "These comments and images are unacceptable and any politician should be able to see that.

"Political disagreements are vital to the democratic process. Democracy is all about the freedom to take different views and debate robustly against those with whom we disagree.

"But reposting, sharing and making jokes about AI generated imagery which depicts violence against politicians is beyond the pale.

"I hope assembly member Susan Hall takes the opportunity to reflect and apologise."

The GLA declined to comment.