Photoshopped Queensland Greens attack ad used by MPs to spruik for donations

Brisbane Greens MPs have been caught out after posting a photoshopped attack ad saying: “The Greens are coming to get you’’, using the doctored ad to spruik for donations.

The Greens have admitted photoshopping an attack ad, aimed at themselves, before multiple Brisbane-based MPS posted it on official Facebook pages to spruik for $25 donations.

The doctored ad showed a giant green goblin and the words: “The Greens are coming to get you’’ and “Seen some strange ads recently? So what’s really happening?’’

It appeared as if the messaging was on the side of a political advertising truck parked outside federal Ryan MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown’s Taringa office.

But nationwide mobile ad company STT Advertising, which owned the truck, confirmed it was completely different to ads taken out by one of its clients.

Director Brett Richards said the vehicle did have two attack ads on its sides, but without the goblin and different wording.

It actually read: “The Greens will increase immigration in a housing crisis’’ and “The Greens will tax your inheritance’’.

The photoshopped attack ad.

Ms Watson-Brown posted a callout to donors on her official Facebook page, including the photoshopped goblin ad.

“Do you know who’s funding attack ads on the Greens?’’ it also said.

“It turns out far right groups with close links to billionaires, coal and gas corporations and the Liberal Party are spending big to stop the Greens and me.

“You might’ve seen ads like this from Advance, or others from Australians for Prosperity. “Well, would you be surprised to learn that their backers include Santos, Woodside, Whitehaven Coal, and Gina Rinehart?’’

A Greens spokeswoman defended the strategy, saying it was clear the ad was not real.

“It’s absolutely true that billionaire-backed right wing lobby groups are attacking the Greens because they know we’ll push to tax billionaires to fund things like dental into Medicare,’’ she said.

“If these Liberal Party front groups are really concerned that our gremlin-inspired spoofs might be mistaken for their real ads, that shows just how silly their ads are.”

But at least one person who commented in Ms Watson-Brown’s post appeared to think the doctored ad was genuine.

The real STT Advertising mobile ad, outside Ms Watson-Brown's office.

The STT Advertising mobile ad truck with the actual advertisement, outside Ms Watson-Brown's office.

Mr Richards commented in Ms Watson-Brown’s post that he was happy for the party to use images of his truck, but asked they use actual photos, prompting one wag to post:

“Na na na na na na, Batman strikes again.’’

He said STT’s mobile billboards were used by a wide range of clients from the Liberals and right wing groups to, ironically, the Greens and left activist group GetUp.

“The point of them is to be cheeky and creative. We’re impartial, we don’t take sides,’’ he said.

“As long as it’s not misleading or a lie, then that’s free speech.

“They (the Greens) used the same colour scheme as ours, but dropped in a new image and words.

“It’s a bit rich, in an age of disinformation, to ask people to ‘please donate to us so we can do the same thing’.’’

Elizabeth Watson-Brown. Picture: Josh Woning

Despite that, he welcomed further ad requests from the Greens, or any other party or politically-active group.

Mr Richards declined to confirm who had paid for the real ads on the sides of the truck, but it was believed to be right wing lobby Advance.

Australian Electoral Commission records showed Cormack Foundation, an investment vehicle for the Liberal Party, last year donated $500,000 to Advance.

Advance, formerly known as Advance Australia, received a total of $15.6m in donations in the 2023/24 financial year.

Most of that was from unknown sources because amounts below $16,000 were exempt from rules on reporting of donor identities.

However Advance has been linked to several multi-millionaire supporters including Australia’s richest woman, iron ore magnate Gina Rinehart.

Originally published as Photoshopped Queensland Greens attack ad used by MPs to spruik for donations