Fact check: Image of Fine Gael poster has been doctored

Aontu and its leader Peadar Toibin shared an image purporting to show a Fine Gael poster with Taoiseach Simon Harris’s face which reads “More Waste. Note, it wasn’t me.”

Evaluation

This is a doctored image, the poster does not appear to be real. An identical photograph, but with a different caption on the poster, has been online for several months.

Aontu told the PA news agency that it is “not a real poster”.

The facts

The name of the barbers in the background of the photograph shows that it was taken on Main St, in Rathfarnham, Dublin.

Google Street View images from the scene show the same barbers and yellow parts on the building next door.

A less cropped version of the image, with a different slogan “A new energy. Vote Fine Gael No. 1” was posted to social media in June 2024.

Luke Silke, spokesperson for Aontu, said: “Aontu, like most other political parties has used political satire during the course of this campaign. It is a perfectly legitimate form of political campaigning.

“The poster in question is being used on social media. It is not a real poster. The message of the poster is accurate though – we have seen incredible waste under this government and a continuous denial from the Taoiseach that it is his fault.

“One of Aontu’s key messages during this election has been around accountability whether it’s for the overspend on the Children’s hospital or the bike shed we feel that Fine Gael is wasting public money. It is obvious to all that the poster depicted in Deputy Toibin’s tweet is satire.”

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