Viral AI-generated Pentagon explosion image rattles Twitter

Boom, but not really! On Monday, an AI-created image of an explosion near the Pentagon went viral, causing quite a stir.

• The source remains a mystery, but the U.S. Department of Defense debunked the photo as "misinformation."

Zoom In: Twitter was the stage for this drama, with the image shared by an impersonated Bloomberg news feed and a Russian state media account.

• The fake explosion not only took over some Twitter feeds but also became a hot search topic on Google.
• The ripple effect even reached Wall Street, causing the U.S. stock market to dip briefly.
• The Arlington, Virginia, Police Department was quick to call "fake news!" on the supposed disaster, reassuring everyone that there was no explosion or immediate threat.

Detecting Fake News: But how can one tell if it's AI-generated? According to experts, there are tell-tale signs, like the blending of the fence with the sidewalk in the image.