Photo editing giant Adobe Inc has cast doubt on Nine News Melbourne's assertion that a photoshopped image of Victorian MP Georgie Purcell was an unintentional result of Photoshop automation.

The controversy unfolded after Purcell criticised the government's dismissal of an inquiry's recommendation to ban duck hunting. Nine News aired a manipulated photo depicting the MP with enhanced features including larger breasts and changing her clothing to a midriff outfit.

I endured a lot yesterday.

But having my body and outfit photoshopped by a media outlet was not on my bingo card.

Note the enlarged boobs and outfit to be made more revealing.

Can’t imagine this happening to a male MP.

What gives? pic.twitter.com/NhnkDRMidc

— Georgie Purcell (@georgievpurcell) January 29, 2024

While 9News Melbourne's director, Hugh Nailon, issued an apology, claiming the image alteration was an unintended consequence of automated resizing, Adobe countered this, stating that any changes of such nature required "human intervention and approval."

Many social media commentators familiar with AI generative tools were quick to contest Nine's explanation that appeared to blame Photoshop for the error, rather than Nine's own staff.

Bizarre story of 9News putting out an image that altered the size of a member of Parliaments breasts and also altered their clothing to show skin around the waist. As someone working in the photo editing industry without specific intent to do this it is unlikely to be… https://t.co/Vl29MQXE9N pic.twitter.com/dn6YuYH74L

— Rukshan Fernando (@therealrukshan) January 30, 2024

Despite Purcell accepting Nine's apology and emphasising the need for media outlets to learn from the incident, Adobe's challenge adds a new layer to the controversy.

Purcell highlighted the broader societal impact and urged consideration of the risks associated with such technology.

This incident further fuels the ongoing global debate about the ethical implications of AI-generated content, with even The White House urging legislative action in response to recent incidents involving AI-generated explicit images.