{"id":23686,"date":"2026-08-01T00:00:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T19:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=23686"},"modified":"2026-08-01T00:00:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T19:00:18","slug":"google-pauses-ai-satellite-images-after-fears-of-deepfakes-in-the-sky-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=23686","title":{"rendered":"Google pauses AI satellite images, after fears of deepfakes in the sky : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"storytext\">\n<div id=\"resg-s1-136559-1\" class=\"bucketwrap image x-large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" data-crop-type=\"\" style=\"&#10;        --source-width: 1600;&#10;        --source-height: 900;&#10;    \">\n        <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb7%2F07%2F0d578eb9494cbe2c0de36b2926d5%2Fai-generated-16x9-kharg.png 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb7%2F07%2F0d578eb9494cbe2c0de36b2926d5%2Fai-generated-16x9-kharg.png 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb7%2F07%2F0d578eb9494cbe2c0de36b2926d5%2Fai-generated-16x9-kharg.png 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb7%2F07%2F0d578eb9494cbe2c0de36b2926d5%2Fai-generated-16x9-kharg.png 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb7%2F07%2F0d578eb9494cbe2c0de36b2926d5%2Fai-generated-16x9-kharg.png 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb7%2F07%2F0d578eb9494cbe2c0de36b2926d5%2Fai-generated-16x9-kharg.png 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb7%2F07%2F0d578eb9494cbe2c0de36b2926d5%2Fai-generated-16x9-kharg.png 1800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/2400\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb7%2F07%2F0d578eb9494cbe2c0de36b2926d5%2Fai-generated-16x9-kharg.png 2400w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb7%2F07%2F0d578eb9494cbe2c0de36b2926d5%2Fai-generated-16x9-kharg.png\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1350px) 953px, (min-width: 1025px) calc(100vw - 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395px), (min-width: 768px) calc(100vw - 60px), calc(100vw - 30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/png\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/50\/format\/png\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb7%2F07%2F0d578eb9494cbe2c0de36b2926d5%2Fai-generated-16x9-kharg.png\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb7%2F07%2F0d578eb9494cbe2c0de36b2926d5%2Fai-generated-16x9-kharg.png\" class=\"img\" alt=\"An AI-generated image showing multiple fires on and near Kharg Island, Iran located in the Persian Gulf.\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n<div class=\"caption\" aria-label=\"Image caption\">\n<p>\n                An AI-generated image showing multiple fires on and near Kharg Island, an Iranian island in the Persian Gulf that is home to a strategic oil terminal.<br \/>\n                <b class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                    Generated and annotated by NPR<\/p>\n<p>                <\/b><br \/>\n                <b class=\"hide-caption\"><b>hide caption<\/b><\/b>\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <b class=\"toggle-caption\"><br \/>\n              <svg class=\"icon icon--info\"><use href=\"#icon-info\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n              <b>toggle caption<\/b><br \/>\n            <\/b>\n    <\/div>\n<p>    <span class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>        Generated and annotated by NPR<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A day after Google unveiled a new feature that allowed users to create AI-generated satellite images with the click of a button on its Google Earth platform, the company announced it was removing the tool.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve seen geospatial professionals using this feature for a range of useful purposes,&#8221; Google said in <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NewsFromGoogle\/status\/2083249962150760610?s=20\" target=\"_blank\">a statement<\/a> on X. &#8220;However we&#8217;ve also seen people sharing screenshots of generated imagery that appear to violate our policies. So we&#8217;re rolling back this feature in Google Earth while we work on implementing stronger guardrails.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.google\/products-and-platforms\/products\/earth\/nano-banana-google-earth-image-generation\/\" target=\"_blank\">its initial announcement<\/a> of the new feature on Thursday, the company said it was designed to work with users&#8217; imaginations: &#8220;Just zoom in to a place in Google Earth on web (sic), tap &#8216;create image,&#8217; and type whatever you want to see,&#8221; Bryan Horowitz, a product manager wrote.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-backstage-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap backstage\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>But for experts and analysts who rely on Google&#8217;s imagery to verify breaking news and atrocities in hard-to-reach parts of the world, the potential to create deepfake satellite imagery at the click of a button was horrifying. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I tried refugees at the Mexican border, a nuclear plant in Iran, a crash in Amsterdam, a hospital with a bomb crater in Gaza. Nothing was refused,&#8221; Henk van Ess, an open-source researcher who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaldigging.org\/p\/how-to-plant-a-nuclear-plant-in-iran\" target=\"_blank\">first wrote<\/a> about the potential damage the tool could cause, told NPR via text.<\/p>\n<p>NPR was able to easily generate images of Iran&#8217;s Kharg Island on fire, and a flooded U.S. Capitol complex. Both events, which have not happened, would constitute major news if they were real.<\/p>\n<p>Online, journalists and open-source investigators wondered aloud about Google&#8217;s decision. &#8220;Very curious how or if this idea was red teamed internally because the opportunities for abuse and disinfo are literally boundless,&#8221; Evan Hill, an visual forensics investigator at the Washington Post <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/evanhill\/status\/2082927203575005581?s=20\" target=\"_blank\">wrote on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"res2082927203575005581\" class=\"bucketwrap twitter large graphic\" aria-label=\"Tweet\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">So it seems Google activated its AI image generation program inside its satellite image app today (blog post here: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/z7JlLrNuB8\">https:\/\/t.co\/z7JlLrNuB8<\/a>). Very curious how or if this idea was red teamed internally because the opportunities for abuse and disinfo are literally boundless. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Dnjx3D1Gwr\">https:\/\/t.co\/Dnjx3D1Gwr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Evan Hill (@evanhill) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/evanhill\/status\/2082927203575005581?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 30, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<p><!-- END ID=\"RES2082927203575005581\" CLASS=\"BUCKETWRAP TWITTER LARGE GRAPHIC\" ARIA-LABEL=\"TWEET\" --><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\"><strong>Eyes in the sky<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>As the online world fills with AI-generated deepfakes and slop, satellite imagery has been a key tool for understanding what&#8217;s real and what&#8217;s not. Open-source investigators have used satellite images to verify events on the ground, and as reference for understanding videos and images shared online.<\/p>\n<p>Google Earth imagery is not always the most up-to-date, but its sweeping, high-resolution coverage of the planet can provide important reference imagery for both images from the ground and more up-to-date images from other satellites.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-secondary-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap secondary\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<aside id=\"mid-story-recommendations-mount-piano\" class=\"mid-story-recommendations-mount-piano\" aria-label=\"recommended stories\"\/>\n<!-- END ID=\"MID-STORY-RECOMMENDATIONS-MOUNT-PIANO\" CLASS=\"MID-STORY-RECOMMENDATIONS-MOUNT-PIANO\" ARIA-LABEL=\"RECOMMENDED STORIES\" --><\/p>\n<div id=\"resnx-s1-5914652-101\" class=\"bucketwrap internallink insettwocolumn inset2col \">\n<div class=\"bucket img\">\n                  <a class=\"imagewrap\" id=\"featuredStackSquareImagenx-s1-5775780\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/04\/10\/nx-s1-5775780\/us-iran-war-israel-satellite-imagery-planet-vantor-censorship\" data-metrics-ga4=\"{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;recirculation&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;story_recirculation_click&quot;,&quot;clickType&quot;:&quot;inset box&quot;,&quot;clickUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.npr.org\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/10\\\/nx-s1-5775780\\\/us-iran-war-israel-satellite-imagery-planet-vantor-censorship&quot;}\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2461x2461+0+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff9%2Fa4%2F22c1b45f48b28934991a6b0a01e2%2Fmehrabad-airport-tehran.jpg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2461x2461+0+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff9%2Fa4%2F22c1b45f48b28934991a6b0a01e2%2Fmehrabad-airport-tehran.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2461x2461+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff9%2Fa4%2F22c1b45f48b28934991a6b0a01e2%2Fmehrabad-airport-tehran.jpg\" data-format=\"webp\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2461x2461+0+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff9%2Fa4%2F22c1b45f48b28934991a6b0a01e2%2Fmehrabad-airport-tehran.jpg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2461x2461+0+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff9%2Fa4%2F22c1b45f48b28934991a6b0a01e2%2Fmehrabad-airport-tehran.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2461x2461+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff9%2Fa4%2F22c1b45f48b28934991a6b0a01e2%2Fmehrabad-airport-tehran.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2461x2461+0+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff9%2Fa4%2F22c1b45f48b28934991a6b0a01e2%2Fmehrabad-airport-tehran.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2461x2461+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff9%2Fa4%2F22c1b45f48b28934991a6b0a01e2%2Fmehrabad-airport-tehran.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" alt=\"A satellite image of destroyed planes at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, Iran on March 7 with a fuzzy black screen covering up the right half of the image.\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/a>         <\/p>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"BUCKETBLOCK\" -->\n      <\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"BUCKET IMG\" -->\n   <\/div>\n<p><!-- END ID=\"RESNX-S1-5914652-101\" CLASS=\"BUCKETWRAP INTERNALLINK INSETTWOCOLUMN INSET2COL \" --><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Satellite imagery has been kind of a safe bet when it comes to verifying an event because it&#8217;s hard to fake,&#8221; says Jake Godin, a senior researcher with the online group Bellingcat, which does visual forensic investigations. Satellite images are usually controlled by companies or institutions, and their source, a camera hundreds of miles above the earth&#8217;s surface, has historically been hard to imitate.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\"><strong>Fakes from space<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Godin noted fake satellite imagery has already cropped up in limited cases. Early on in the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, for example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/live\/cvg3qzx512nt?post=asset%3Aa148229b-605b-48d9-a0c8-d156bda8c9a6#post\" target=\"_blank\">fake images circulated<\/a> of a damaged U.S. base in Bahrain. The images, which popped up in Iranian media, appeared to use Google Earth images and Google AI to generate fake damage at the base. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/04\/03\/nx-s1-5770491\/evacuation-bahrain-norfolk-troops\" target=\"_blank\">Real satellite images<\/a> later showed that the base was, in fact, damaged, just not in the way shown in the fake image.)<\/p>\n<div id=\"resg-s1-136561\" class=\"bucketwrap image x-large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" data-crop-type=\"\" style=\"&#10;        --source-width: 1600;&#10;        --source-height: 900;&#10;    \">\n        <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png 1800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/2400\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png 2400w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1350px) 953px, (min-width: 1025px) calc(100vw - 395px), (min-width: 768px) calc(100vw - 60px), calc(100vw - 30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/png\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/png\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/png\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/png\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/png\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/png\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/png\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png 1800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/2400\/quality\/85\/format\/png\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png 2400w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1350px) 953px, (min-width: 1025px) calc(100vw - 395px), (min-width: 768px) calc(100vw - 60px), calc(100vw - 30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/png\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/50\/format\/png\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F85%2F6d26ae574b878475fb06acdbf767%2Fai-generated-16x9-flood.png\" class=\"img\" alt=\"An AI-generated image showing significant flooding around the U.S. Capitol.\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n<div class=\"caption\" aria-label=\"Image caption\">\n<p>\n                An AI-generated image showing significant flooding around the U.S. Capitol.<br \/>\n                <b class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                    Generated and annotated by NPR<\/p>\n<p>                <\/b><br \/>\n                <b class=\"hide-caption\"><b>hide caption<\/b><\/b>\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <b class=\"toggle-caption\"><br \/>\n              <svg class=\"icon icon--info\"><use href=\"#icon-info\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n              <b>toggle caption<\/b><br \/>\n            <\/b>\n    <\/div>\n<p>    <span class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>        Generated and annotated by NPR<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But putting the tools together to create AI-generated satellite images with a single click has the potential to vastly accelerate the generation of AI fakes, Godin said. &#8220;It&#8217;s just streamlining the process, which I think is going to make it proliferate more.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Godin worries that the spread of fake images will add to confusion and misinformation. &#8220;Misinformation travels further and faster than any sort of correction,&#8221; he said. Moreover, governments will now be more likely to claim satellite images are fake, even if they are real, undermining public trust.<\/p>\n<p>In an <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/newsfromgoogle\/status\/2083025180125802635?s=46\" target=\"_blank\">posting on X<\/a> on Thursday, the company said it &#8220;takes misinformation seriously.&#8221; The company noted that all images are marked with its SynthID watermark, which ensures it will be flagged as AI-generated in other Google tools such as Gemini. &#8220;In addition, we prevent image creation on harmful topics and are continually updating our protections,&#8221; it said.<\/p>\n<p>But few in the open source community seemed reassured by Google&#8217;s statements. For van Ess, the decision particularly stings because Google Earth has long been regarded as one of the best tools to verify information posted on social media.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-third-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap third\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>If it continues tool, he said,  would mean that &#8220;the fake is made inside the thing people use to check whether pictures are true.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An AI-generated image showing multiple fires on and near Kharg Island, an Iranian island in the Persian Gulf that is home to a strategic oil terminal. Generated and annotated by NPR hide caption toggle caption Generated and annotated by NPR A day after Google unveiled a new feature that allowed users to create AI-generated satellite&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1600x900+0+0\/resize\/1400\/quality\/85\/format\/png\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb7%2F07%2F0d578eb9494cbe2c0de36b2926d5%2Fai-generated-16x9-kharg.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}