The picture of an explosion near the Pentagon is spreading like wildfire! The spokesperson of the US Department of Defense refutes the rumor, US media: It's another AI image!

Source: Global Network

Starting from the morning of Monday (22nd) US time, a clearly AI generated image showing an explosion near the Pentagon went viral on social media, despite a spokesperson for the US Department of Defense confirming that the image was fake. Multiple American media outlets have reported this news.

According to Forbes News, just after 10am local time on Monday, this image began to circulate on Twitter. The post claimed that there was an explosion near the Pentagon, and the original post has been deleted. But CNN stated that the buildings in the picture do not look like the Pentagon.

Forbes stated that a spokesperson for the US Department of Defense confirmed to it that the image that was wildly circulated on Google search and Twitter was "false information". The Arlington Fire and Emergency Department, where the Pentagon is located, tweeted that "there were no explosions or accidents" and that there was no "direct danger or harm to the public". Subsequently, the Pentagon Defense Agency (PFPA) Twitter account also forwarded the tweet from the Arlington Fire and Emergency Department.

Forbes News reported that the source of the image has not been determined yet, but recently AI generated very realistic "deep forgery" images that have caused a sensation, such as Pope Francis wearing the Balencian coat series, and realistic images of former President Donald Trump resisting authorities during a false arrest.

According to CNN, the image has all the features generated by AI and is still shared by many authenticated accounts with blue check marks. At the moment when the picture began to circulate on Twitter, there was a significant decline in the US stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by about 80 points between 10:06 am and 10:10 am, and fully recovered by 10:13 am. Similarly, the S&P 500 index rose 0.02% from 10:06 am to decline 0.15% at 10:09 am. By 10:11 am, the index had once again shown a positive value.

Forbes News Network said that although the Pentagon explosion never occurred, the Pentagon explosion map still went viral, highlighting the danger of artificial intelligence generating false information.