It turns out One Nation actually does know how to spell the federal seat of Farrer, despite a widely circulated image of a misspelled campaign sign.

One Nation was ridiculed this week for the apparent spelling error on a candidate’s hoarding ahead of the Farrer byelection.

But the sign in question was a workplace joke.

The corflute depicts a supposed candidate named David Hirst for the “Farrier region”, an apparent reference to the NSW regional seat of Farrer. It is held by outgoing former opposition leader Sussan Ley, whose resignation from parliament has triggered a byelection to be held on May 9.

However, the campaign sign has nothing to do with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. Instead, it is the result of a prank between work friends in the electorate.

A Facebook post featuring a photo of a corflute tied to a fence appeared with the caption: “These One Nation goons can’t even spell the proper name of Sussan Leys former electorate!” 

Another post claims: “… on their Corflutes for the new By Election in FARRER (Sussan Ley’s Seat) they can’t even bloody spell FARRER  correctly”.

Photos of the poster are also being shared on X.

“You’d have to wonder how good a job the One Nation candidate would do if he either can’t spell or doesn’t care enough to find out the name of the electorate,” one caption states.

However, David Hirst is not a One Nation candidate. 

One Nation has said it will run a candidate in Farrer. However, the chosen person has not been confirmed. 

A One Nation statement said three individuals – David Farley, Leigh Wolki and Guy Cooper – would contest pre-selection at a meeting on March 7.

One Nation has confirmed that the election sign is not authentic. 

“One Nation has no knowledge of this David Hirst person,” a party spokesperson said. “He is not a candidate for One Nation in any seat.”

The corflute in the images also does not display the actual One Nation logo, which features a Southern Cross, nor does it match the hoarding design used by the party at previous elections. 

Hirst, an Albury local, confirmed the poster was made by his co-workers as a joke and that he has no association with One Nation.

-AAP