Swathed in a purple dressing gown, the elderly woman sits alone at the dining room table, her gaze fixed into the distance.

Key points: The image has been used by both Labor and the Liberals in political campaigns

The image has been used by both Labor and the Liberals in political campaigns The photo was taken 10 years ago in the United States

The photo was taken 10 years ago in the United States The photo is a widely used stock image of a generic elderly woman

One hand rests on her furrowed brow. In the other, she holds a sheet of paper — the type that looks to be bearing bad news.

The photograph is a powerful visual metaphor that speaks to the precarious nature of life facing her generation: failing health, financial hardship and social isolation.

Which is why in the decade since it was first taken, this $40 photo of the lady in the purple dressing gown has become a familiar stock image of choice for many journalists, marketers, advertisers and political parties.

And over the past few years, she has featured regularly in campaign material for both Labor and the Liberals before graduating to become a key visual motif of Liberal Party's "retiree tax" campaign targeting Labor's proposed franking credit reforms.

Same woman, same pose

The Labor Party used the image in Facebook campaigns in 2013, 2014 and 2015 to attack then prime minister Tony Abbott over his government's aged pension reforms.

In August 2018, Labor used the same photo of the woman to shame the Morrison Government over its provision of home care assistance for ageing Australians.

Labor Facebook posts from 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017 attacking Liberal Party policies. ( Facebook )

But the Liberal Party has also been an enthusiastic user of the photo, adopting the woman as the "poster granny" for its campaign against the Labor Party's franking credit reforms.

In May 2018, the Tasmanian Liberals featured the photo in a Facebook post having a go at "Labor's Granny Tax".

A screen capture from the Tasmanian Liberals' Facebook page, attacking Labor's "granny tax". ( Facebook )

A month later, the photo made a cameo in a Liberal Party YouTube video titled "Labor's Taxes: The Bill Australia Can't Afford".

The video warned that a Shorten Labor government would "take more than $200 billion from the pockets of Australians" in the form of new or higher taxes.

A still from a Liberal Party YouTube video. ( YouTube )

Same woman, same pose, but now being deployed by both the Liberals and Labor for different causes.

From Facebook to billboards

Towards the end of 2018, she appeared on the Liberal Party's website as the face behind a petition form and, in January, cropped up in a number of Facebook posts made by Liberal MPs calling out "Labor's unfair retiree tax".

Last week, the campaign went up another notch. A post by Liberal National Party MP Luke Howarth, who currently holds the marginal seat of Petrie in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, shows the photograph on a roadside advertising billboard.

A screen capture of a Facebook post by Liberal Party MP Luke Howarth showing a photo of a billboard. ( Facebook )

And later in the week, Liberal MPs and candidates were re-posting and re-tweeting a new variation of the social media campaign with the same familiar face in the background.

A screen capture of a Liberal Facebook post attacking Labor's "retiree tax". ( Facebook )

But there's more to the history of the woman in the purple dressing gown.

In an era of never-ending news cycles and the infinite opportunities afforded by social media, it's becoming increasingly hard to keep track of who uses what and when.

Which is why it probably went unnoticed that the same stock image of the lady in the purple dressing gown was used in a 2012 Obama campaign video taking down the Republican health care policy.

A still from a 2012 Obama campaign video attacking the Republicans' health care policies. ( YouTube )

Convenience versus authenticity

Titled "An elderly lady sat looking stressed reading bills", the photo is one of a set available for purchase for $39.60 (including GST) from the leading stock image providers.

If you have been targeted by unusual political messages in the lead up to the federal election, show us what you're seeing. Email hiddencampaign@abc.net.au

Over the years the same image has also been used by many organisations including a Washington DC public policy institute, a South Florida debt advisory service, a charity for retired Delta Airlines employees, the Irish branch of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, a New York state medical billing company, an Oklahoma law firm and a home care service provider in Philadelphia.

The photo has likewise illustrated stories about retirement and healthcare in numerous news websites including Network 10, financial news site CNBC, Britain's Daily Express, Radio Canada International, Germany's Die Welt and Connecticut's New Haven Register.

A collage of websites that have used the same stock image of the elderly lady in the purple dressing gown.

According to a signed release form supplied by stock image provider iStockphoto, the woman who posed for the photographs lived in the town of Sandy in Utah and sat for the shoot on September 25, 2009.

At the time of the photo shoot, the woman — whose name was redacted from the form — was 72-years-old.

Todd Keith, a photographer from Salt Lake City who took the photo, said he believed his model was a US citizen who has since passed away.

Using stock images in political advertising is not without risks. It involves a trade-off between convenience and authenticity.

As the backlash over the recent case of the "fake retiree" and the 2016 "fake tradie" incident shows, there can be blowback when corners are cut.

"It is common for political parties of all persuasions to use stock images in their communications," a spokesman for the Liberal Party said, providing examples of some of the Labor Party's recent use of stock photos.

The Labor Party has also been approached for comment.

Even though he makes part of his living from stock photography, Mr Keith was firmly of the view that political parties should steer clear of them.

"It's not at all representative," he said. "These [models] could be anybody, or have any political beliefs."

That view is endorsed by Dee Madigan, the executive creative director of advertising firm Campaign Edge.

"It's surprising that they would do that," she said. "Why not just spend a little bit more on a proper photograph. Otherwise, this becomes the story, as it will. Then it's an own goal."

Ms Madigan, who has worked on campaigns for Labor in the past, says that her creative team now avoids using stock photos and even actors in political advertising.

"Which is really hard because real people are terrible at playing real people."