'Sincerely apologise': Real estate agent slammed over war zone marketing post

The image has since been deleted from social media. Image: Instagram
The image has since been deleted from social media. Image: Instagram
A Queenstown real-estate agent has apologised after using AI imagery to link the Middle East conflict with sales success.

Donna Hewitt, of Connect Realty, shared an image depicting herself in a war zone with helicopters and US President Donald Trump in the background.

The social media post has since been taken down and Ms Hewitt said in a statement on Facebook it had caused people to be concerned and upset.

"The intention behind my original post was to highlight results in a challenging market, but I recognise that the real-world conflict connection was inappropriate and insensitive."

Her post proclaimed she had sold six properties this month in the midst of the Middle East conflict and this had been shared, along with AI hoax imagery from unknown sources.

"I sincerely apologise to anyone who was offended or impacted," Ms Hewitt said.

"That was never my intention, and I understand why it has been received the way it has."

Reaction on reddit included that the post was "colossally stupid" and "so cringe".

Among the comments were that the timing was poor, coming just before Anzac Day - it was disrespectful to fallen heroes.

Another noted the post stayed up for several hours.

 

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