Statement by Jan de Villiers MP – DA National Spokesperson:
The Democratic Alliance condemns the circulation of a fabricated image purporting to show our long-serving Bergrivier Mayor, Alderman Ray van Rooy, joining the Patriotic Alliance.
Ray has confirmed unequivocally that the image is fake, and he has not joined the PA.
The image has also been tested using OpenAI’s official content-verification system, which detected an OpenAI-originated SynthID watermark. This provides strong independent evidence that the image was manipulated using OpenAI tools.
The apparent purpose of this fabrication is particularly sinister: to create the false impression that Ray has defected from the DA, seemingly in the hope of provoking action against him by his own party.
It will not work.
The DA has full confidence in Ray van Rooy. He is a loyal and longstanding member of our party, and no fabricated photograph circulated by our political opponents will change that.
There appear to be no depths to which the PA will not sink in their desperation to undermine the DA.
Political parties should campaign against one another. We are entitled to criticise our opponents and persuade voters to support us. But manufacturing a false political event using artificial intelligence and presenting it as reality crosses a dangerous line.
We call on the PA to state publicly whether it, any of its representatives, officials or campaign structures created, commissioned or knowingly distributed this image.
If the PA had nothing to do with its manufacture, it should have no difficulty condemning the fabrication and assisting in establishing its source.
The DA will not be manipulated into turning against one of its own public representatives on the basis of AI manipulation.
Those responsible have failed in their apparent objective.
Instead of damaging Ray van Rooy, they have demonstrated precisely why voters should be deeply sceptical of dirty tricks campaigning.
The DA will continue campaigning on the issue that actually matters: getting municipalities working for all.
