Singapore’s AI-generated National Day banner erases flag’s crescent and stars, invents fake stadium

The banners went up around Block 409 Bedok North Avenue 2 in the Bedok housing estate an photos spread through the Facebook group SG Creative & Cultural Community on July 20, after a resident and art practitioner posting as Zu shared the previous day one with a caption calling it a prime example of AI-generated artwork, Mothership reported. Commenters circled more flaws and asked why nobody checked the design before it was printed and hung.

The flag was not the only error. The Independent Singapore reported that another banner featured a fabricated landmark labeled “Singapore National Indoor Stadium,” a venue that does not exist. The country has a Singapore Indoor Stadium and a National Stadium.

A second flag, held by children in one image, showed the crescent and stars smeared into indistinct blobs. Zu also questioned how people were depicted in one banner, saying ethnic representation matters for an occasion like National Day.

Under the National Symbols Act 2022 and its 2023 regulations, which extended the rules to digital reproductions, producing or displaying a flag that distorts the national design is prohibited. The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth can order such material taken down.

By the morning of July 22, all offending banners had been removed.

The Kampong Chai Chee Community Club, a grassroots body under Singapore’s People’s Association, addressed the criticism in a July 21 Facebook post. It said the banner was created and paid for by residents “who came together to celebrate Singapore’s National Day and bring some festive cheer to our community,” many of them seniors who volunteered their time.

“They were not aware that the AI-generated banner contained inaccuracies,” the club said. It replaced the banner the same day it was alerted and acknowledged that AI output “should always be carefully checked before it is used.”

Singapore marks National Day on Aug. 9, commemorating its separation from Malaysia in 1965. Under national symbols rules, residents may fly the flag from their homes without a flagpole between July 1 and Sept. 30.