A website selling Neil the seal merchandise has been taken down after questions about claims it donates a percentage of profits to marine conservation.
The "Neil the seal official" website advertised merchandise including a $150 hoodie featuring a depiction of the popular elephant seal that visits beaches in Tasmania's south biannually.
The company stated it financially supported marine conservation.
"A portion of every purchase from the Neil the Seal Official store goes toward marine conservation work protecting seals, sea lions, and ocean ecosystems in Australia and beyond," it stated.
"We're building formal partnerships with conservation organisations.
"Direct donate links and clearer reporting on impact will be published here as those partnerships are confirmed — in the meantime, every order still contributes, and you can support the organisations below independently today."
The website was selling a hoodie for $150. (neilthesealofficial.com)
The website stated it "supports and recommends":
- Australian Marine Conservation Society
- WWF Australia
- Tasmania's Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE), which was incorrectly referred to by its old name, DPIPWE
- Marine Mammal Foundation
For each organisation, it stated "official partnership details" were coming soon.
But the three organisations and the government department told the ABC they had not had any contact with the company, nor had they received any donations from it.
The website said it donated to marine conservation efforts. (neilthesealofficial.com)
After the ABC contacted the website, it altered the section about its support for those organisations.
It changed "organisations we support and recommend" to "organisations we recommend" and removed the references to "official partnership details coming soon".
It also added links to donate directly to the organisations.
Shortly afterwards, the website was taken down.
The front page of the website, which was later taken down. (neilthesealofficial.com)
Artwork generated by OpenAI
The company claimed a sticker depicting Neil the seal it had for sale was designed by a "local artist".
"This beautiful die-cut vinyl sticker is custom designed by a talented local Tasmanian artist to celebrate Neil's famous seasonal return!" the website stated.
But OpenAI's tool to detect AI-generated images found the sticker "was generated using OpenAI tools".
"We found a SynthID watermark that originated from OpenAI," the tool reported.
OpenAI says the image of the hoodie contains a watermark meaning it was generated by AI. (OpenAI)
The plushie, T-shirt, mug and jumper for sale all revealed the same results.
While the website has been taken down, similar ones remain online.
A website called 'official Neil the seal' (rather than 'Neil the seal official') has been operating for a few weeks and also sells merchandise depicting Neil that appears AI-generated.
The ABC has not been able to determine who runs the second website.
The plushie also came up as AI generated. (OpenAI)
Corporate records reveal website owner
The first website, 'Neil the seal official', displayed an Australian Business Number (ABN) linked to New South Wales man Grant Vaby.
Mr Vaby told the ABC he had not intended to communicate he had an "official partnership" with the conservation organisations, but said he was going to donate a percentage of profits to them if the website made any money.
Neil the seal returned to the sea last month. (Supplied: Sam Volker Photography)
He said the website had made 10 sales. Asked if he had fulfilled any of those orders, he declined to comment.
Mr Vaby also said he could not comment on the artwork being AI-generated, and declined to name the "local artist", saying he did not want to involve them.
Misleading websites prolific in the age of AI
The Marine Mammals Foundation, which was named on the website as a supported organisation, said it was concerned by the messaging.
"As a not-for-profit charity organisation, we rely on the generosity of community members and work incredibly hard to build trust so they know their support is making a difference," founding director Kate Robb said.
"We utilise the donations we do receive for research, education and conservation of marine mammals."
Neil the seal is known to interact with traffic cones and signage when he visits Tasmania. (Supplied: Sam Volker Photography)
University of Melbourne law professor Jeannie Paterson, who specialises in consumer protection and the regulation of AI, said businesses could be fined for misleading consumers.
"If you're marketing that you're donating money to conservation groups and you're not, it's misleading — it's also morally repugnant,"
she said.
"And if you're saying this is a local product and it's not, again, it's misleading."
Jeannie Paterson says AI has made it easy to create misleading content online. (Australian Story: Simon Winter )
Professor Paterson encouraged consumers to be sceptical before buying from online stores.
"AI and the internet have made it really easy to make misleading conduct, scam conduct, untruthful conduct — and for the ordinary consumer, they have to remember to check carefully before they buy," she said.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the regulator in charge of protecting consumers from misleading business practices, but Professor Paterson said it had its work cut out.
"The ACCC can't pick up every misleading website and nor can the state fair trading office, but the idea is that by prosecuting a few examples, they're sending a message that you can't engage in misleading conduct in Australia," she said.
The ACCC encouraged people concerned about misleading information to report it.
"Under the Australian Consumer Law, businesses should not engage in misleading or deceptive conduct or make false or misleading representations," a spokesperson said.
"This includes representations about affiliations with charities or other entities."
