A fake image of an explosion at the Pentagon in the United States, created by artificial intelligence, briefly went viral on the internet on Monday, sending markets tumbling for ten minutes.
The photo showed a huge column of smoke coming out of the Pentagon and was shared by various accounts on social networks, forcing the Defense Department to point out publicly that there was no such explosion.
“We can confirm that this was a false report and that the Pentagon was not attacked today,” said a spokesman for the Defense Department secretariat.
The Arlington Fire Department, in the state of Virginia, also reacted and posted a message on social networks assuring that there was no explosion or incident in or near the Pentagon.
The emerging technologies of generative AI facilitate, among other things, that non-specialists can create convincing images in just a few moments, instead of needing training and experience to use design programs like Photoshop.
The image of the Pentagon shared on the networks impacted the markets for a few minutes. The expanded S&P 500 index – of the largest 500 companies and a main benchmark among investors – fell 0.29% compared to its close on Friday before recovering again.
Fake images created by artificial intelligence: the background
This incident followed other fake image occurrences that have also recently created a stir on the internet, such as a series of photos depicting the fake arrest of former US President Donald Trump and others of Pope Francis wearing a Balenciaga puffer jacket.
The first Twitter post that the AFP news agency found sharing such an image of the Pentagon came from an account promoting the QAnon movement (short for Q-Anonymous), a defender of conspiracy theories promoted by the extreme right and who had previously shared false information, however, the original source of the image has not yet been determined.
Source: Ambito
