A sick theory about Gus Lamont, 4, who went missing in the Australian outback, has spread online – however, the image which sparked the update was AI-generated.
August ‘Gus’ Lamont was last seen playing in a mound of dirt near his grandparents’ homestead on a sheep station 40km south of Yunta, in eastern South Australia, at about 5pm on Saturday, September 27.
He had vanished by the time his grandmother went to call him in, some 30 minutes later.
Police began searching the 60,000ha property shortly after Gus disappeared but found no sign of the little boy.
An extensive land and air search was launched, with hundreds of people scouring the surrounding area in the intervening days, including police, SES volunteers, and members of the Australian Defence Force.
However, despite their best efforts, the only trace of Gus was a single footprint found about 500 metres from the homestead – which police have since cast doubt on.
Despite authorities providing updates about the search for Gus, fake images have been used to spread misinformation about his disappearance.
One of the fake updates, which was shared some 24,000 times on social media, claimed eyewitnesses had seen a boy matching Gus’ description with a man.
Four-year-old August ‘Gus’ Lamont (pictured) went missing on Saturday, September 27
A fake AI-generated image of Gus being bundled into a vehicle by an ‘unfamiliar man’ has been shared thousands of times online
Along with the claim was an AI-generated image showing the ‘unfamiliar man’ holding Gus as he bundled him into a vehicle.
‘An eyewitness reports seeing a boy matching Gus Lamont’s description with an unfamiliar man in a car about 100km from Yunta,’ the post read.
Expert in missing persons, Dr Sarah Wayland, explained technology was adding a new dimension to information about missing persons.
Dr Wayland said developing technology, such as AI, was creating an additional layer which blurred the lines between credible and non-credible information.
‘The challenge of stories that have shown to be newsworthy or share-worthy means that the continual push for clicks is blurring the lines between credible and non-credible updates,’ Dr Sarah Wayland told The Advertiser.
‘When the community engages with these sites, pause and consider who is sharing the information, whether it’s verified by SAPOL, and what the usual focus of that page is.’
Dr Wayland added AI generated content was sometimes easily believed as factual and cautioned social media users to verify the information before sharing it online.
‘We need to question where is this information coming from and is this the most accurate information at this stage,’ Dr Wayland told The ABC.
Gus was last seen playing in a mound of dirt near his grandparents’ homestead on a sheep station 40km south of Yunta, in eastern South Australia , at about 5pm (pictured)
‘If we can’t verify that, then maybe pause, rather than commenting.’
It comes after some social media users were given false information about Gus’ disappearance while using Facebook’s Meta AI search.
One Meta AI search summary claimed Gus was ‘found alive after a massive search operation in the South Australian outback.’
Another result provided information from South Australia’s police website and an online news article, which explained Gus was still missing despite the search effort.
A spokesperson for South Australia Police urged anyone looking for information about missing persons, emergency events, or investigations to visit official websites or reliable social media pages.
‘Police urge caution when using artificial intelligence in internet searches and recommend cross-referencing the information with trusted sources,’ they said.
Another vile conspiracy falsely claimed Gus’ loved ones are responsible for foul play.
Hundreds of police, SES volunteers, members of the Australian Defence Force and specialist divers who checked water tanks and dams and used infrared cameras, tracking dogs, ATVs, and drones in their search for the four-year-old.
Hundreds of people scoured the surrounding area in the intervening days including police, SES volunteers and members of the Australian Defence Force, in the search for Gus
Police searched the 60,000ha property shortly after Gus disappeared but found no sign of the little boy (pictured, volunteers at the property)
However, On October 3, just hours after a photo of Gus was released by the family, police made the difficult call to scale back the search from a rescue to recovery.
South Australian Assistant Police Commissioner Ian Parrott announced the search would be scaled back, with the sad admission that it’s unlikely he will be found alive.
‘While we’ve all been hoping for a miracle, that miracle was not eventuated,’ Commissioner Parrott said.
‘And in the last 48 hours, despite the professional advice it being unlikely that Gus would have survived, we have maintained and in fact increased the effort to try and locate him and bring him back to his family.
‘We’re confident that we’ve done absolutely everything we can to locate Gus within the search area.
‘But despite our best efforts, we have not been able to locate him, and unfortunately, we are now having to scale back this search for Gus.
‘We won’t stop, we will continue to investigate and follow any lines of inquiry that we currently have.’
The tough call was based on scientific and professional advice on how long a four-year-old could survive alone in remote terrain in freezing overnight temperatures in the clothing Gus was last seen wearing.
Despite the search team’s best efforts, the only trace of Gus was a single footprint found about 500 metres from the homestead (pictured)- which police have since cast doubt on
Gus was last seen wearing a grey broad-brimmed hat, a blue long-sleeved shirt with a Minion picture from Despicable Me on the front, light grey pants, and boots.
Police believe that Gus wandered off and was not taken, as the only people who travel on the nearby road are station owners.
‘Everything that we have found to date, every piece of information and evidence that we have explored to date, indicates that, as best as we know, Gus has wandered off from this property and we have not been able to locate him,’ Parrott said.
Locals believe the four-year-old may have fallen into a disused and unmarked mine.
The state is dotted with mines and wells from more than a century ago.
The mines were used as water sources for livestock and those hunting gold, with many being invisible to the naked eye.
