Google Earth's AI Feature Lets Anyone Generate Fake Satellite Images of Drone Strikes, Nuclear Plants, and Refugee Camps

Google added an AI image-generation tool to Google Earth that lets any user type a prompt over a location and produce photorealistic fake satellite imagery. In 404 Media's tests, the tool generated a bomb crater in Los Angeles, a "homeless encampment" in a politically contested part of the city, skyscrapers in a rural area, and a protest outside Google's own headquarters. OSINT researcher Henk van Ess put refugees near the Mexican border, a nuclear plant in Iran, and a fatal crash on an Amsterdam street in a single evening.

Google's response pointed to SynthID watermarking embedded in every generated image, arguing users can check authenticity via Gemini or Google Lens. OSINT professional Ben Heubl noted that watermark detection can be circumvented, and that bad-faith actors rarely need longevity to cause damage: a fabricated image can reshape a news cycle long before any correction arrives.