Artificial intelligence helped to create fake news about an explosion in the US

On Monday, May 22, social media users began actively sharing photos of an alleged explosion near the Pentagon building. However, it turned out to be fake. This was reported by the American fact-checking publication AFP.

The agency denied the information about the terrorist attack. «We can confirm that it was a false report and the Pentagon was not attacked today,» a US Department of Defense spokesman told reporters.

According to media outlets, the building seen in the photo does not really look like the headquarters of the US Department of Defense. Users suggested that the image was generated by artificial intelligence.

Analysts at The Kobeissi Letter said that the viral photo triggered a market crash that lasted several minutes. During this time, the S&P 500 index dropped by 0.26%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 80 points. However, the situation soon stabilized. The crypto sector also reacted to the incident, with the bitcoin rate dropping to $ 26,882 at the time. At the time of writing, the flagship asset is worth $ 27,402.

«This has led to a fluctuation in market capitalization of $ 500 billion,» The Kobeissi Letter said. Immediately after it was confirmed that the photo was fake, the situation on the market returned to normal.

The incident gives a new reason for debate about the threats posed by AI. Earlier, the neural network has already generated fakes about the arrest of Donald Trump and Pope Francis wearing a Balenciaga jacket. The latest case is forcing a new discussion about the new Twitter verification policy introduced by Elon Musk. As a reminder, Twitter users can buy verification for $ 8 per month. Such an account receives a blue check mark and is visually perceived as a source of information that is trustworthy.