WHAT WAS CLAIMED
An image shows Indian food being served at a Bunnings sausage sizzle stand.
OUR VERDICT
False. The image is AI-generated.
AAP FACTCHECK - An image purporting to show Indian food being served at a Bunnings sausage sizzle is being used to stir up anti-migrant sentiment online, but it's actually AI-generated.
The image depicts several men standing under a gazebo next to a Bunnings store with a sign that says "AUTHENTIC INDIAN FOOD" and a table with trays of what appears to be a range of Indian cuisine.
It's included in a Facebook post that states: "BREAKING: Bunnings has fallen."
"In its place: Butter Chicken, Samosas and 'Authentic Indian Food from the Heart of India' right under the green canopy.
"Not even the great Aussie tradition of a snag can be left alone by 'diversity'. Is nothing in Australia sacred anymore? Our culture is slowly being erased."
But the image displays signs it has been created using artificial intelligence (AI), including sauce bottles in the foreground that appear to merge into one another.
OpenAI's verification tool confirms the picture includes a digital SynthID watermark, meaning it was generated using AI.
Bunnings has a policy that only sausages, onions, bread, condiments and drinks can be sold at their famous sausage sizzle fundraisers (page 3).
A spokesperson for the retailer told AAP FactCheck the image is fake and the sausage sizzle policy has not changed.
The AI-generated image appears to be based on a genuine photo posted on Facebook on January 3, 2026, that shows three people at a traditional Bunnings sausage sizzle with no Indian food on offer.
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