Social-media users were warned against a fraudulent Facebook post that used branding from The Royal Gazette to promote a scam.

The post was shared by the page Fresh News on Saturday and featured a scam Gazette link, as well as AI-altered videos of Grae Minors, a former Bermuda Broadcasting Company reporter, who is not employed by this newspaper, and David Burt, the Premier and Minister of Finance.

Bill Zuill, the Editor of The Royal Gazette, decried the post as damaging to both journalists and public officers, and urged those who saw it to report it.

“I want to emphasise that this post is entirely false and has nothing whatsoever to do with The Royal Gazette,” Mr Zuill said. “If this item comes up on your Facebook feed, please report it as a fraud and false information.

“It is incomprehensible why people create and spread complete fabrications which can create false hope for people and have the potential to discredit both our political leaders and journalists.

“Journalists at this newspaper and other media outlets work incredibly hard to provide the public with factual and reliable information which helps people to make sound decisions about their lives, and false posts like this one do massive harm.”

The Gazette’s banner has previously been used to lend legitimacy to fraudulent posts on social-media platforms such as Facebook.

One fake post last April featured an AI-generated post of Mr Burt and this newspaper’s logo to promote another scam.

A similar advertisement appeared just days before under very similar circumstances.

A spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office noted that fraudulent AI posts and accounts have been used in growing frequency to mislead and potentially defraud the public.

She emphasised that these recent videos, despite appearing to feature the Premier, were not legitimate.

She added: “With the rise of artificial intelligence, fake videos, false representations and messages are becoming more common.

“Unfortunately, individuals have been scammed in the past and we urge all residents to exercise caution and remain vigilant when using the internet.

“If anyone receives the referenced fake AI post, they should report it directly on the platform.

“As a reminder, no government official will ever use social media to promote an investment.

“The public are once again encouraged to only rely on official information and official advisories from the Government of Bermuda.”

• To find authentic Gazette content online, visitroyalgazette.comor official social-media pages onFacebookandX