Ed Sheerans Tour Haircut Sparks Controversy

has fallen victim to a controversial trend during his recent tour Down Under.

Fake images of the 35-year-old pop star have been generated by a winery, a gym, and a hairdresser, among others, during his The Loop Tour of Australia.

Some of the posts show the AI Ed posing for selfies or showing off a business brand name.

One post shows the singer shaking hands with the owner of a grocer's, which appeared to fool followers on Instagram.

'No way, that is awesome,' said one person on the post by Hawthorn's The Fresh Feast.

Victorian MP Brad Rowswell got into the act with his own fake AI post in which 'Ed' can be seen posing with his arm around the Member for Sandringham.

'Fresh from three incredible performances at Marvel Stadium, has anyone else Mr Rowswell joked.

He added: 'Just to be clear - this is AI-generated…'

Another image, created by a Queensland hairdresser, shows the fake Ed in a Sunshine Coast salon, supposedly getting a haircut. 

The woman, Lisa, from The House of York Hair Design, told Yahoo: 'I just jumped on the bandwagon for a bit of fun, but I secretly hoped he'd call in for a haircut on the way to Australia Zoo.'

'I literally had family, clients, friends, etc., messaging me, calling me straight away once I'd posted it.

'It's actually incredible how accurate and how easy it was to create.'

According to the publication, an unnamed winery in Victoria also used an image of Ed online in which he can be seen browsing their offerings.

But the post was not seen as fun by followers.