How could the man break promises that he'd had printed on a billboard, signed, and posed for photographs in front of?

It's not like Prime Munster Tony Abbott made a huge billboard of his promises and stood in front of them. Oh wait... pic.twitter.com/Bc8Lrzdz9q— Dave Donovan (@davrosz) May 16, 2014

The problem was, the image, which circulated widely online after the Abbott government's unpopular first budget, was a fake - a photoshopped version of this image, taken on July 1, 2012.

While the billboard image is fake, the quote is very similar to something Abbott actually said (below) in an interview with SBS World News on the night before the 2013 election.

 

In that interview, he didn't make reference to "any government I lead." That appears to be a creative flourish, and perhaps a reference to Julia Gillard's 2010 pre-election pledge, which Abbott exploited in opposition to devastating effect.

The fake billboard inspired a number of satirical spinoffs.

@TonyAbbottMHR @TurnbullMalcolm Remember this Billboard? Nobody bothered with the fine print #abccuts #auspol pic.twitter.com/AXhTRI1PL5— Ricky J Pannowitz (@rickypann) November 20, 2014

The first accurate LNP billboard I've seen. Obviously photo shopped they'd never be that honest. #auspol #libliar pic.twitter.com/yQcmNCQh2T— PleasecallmeHeath (@notthatmcavaney) January 9, 2015

But as the Abbott government's second budget nears, the fake billboard is once again doing the rounds online.

@alxsnfr @JohnLeao1 It's not like Abbott made a huge billboard of his promises and stood in front of them. Oh wait... pic.twitter.com/QVB9q0dDsC— Ben Whiting (@MaitlandWhiting) March 1, 2015

As opposition leader, Abbott once infamously suggested that only his "carefully prepared, scripted remarks" could be taken as the "gospel truth."

It seems Photoshop makes discerning the truth a bit more difficult.

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