Google Pauses Earth AI Image Tool Over Fabricated Satellite Images
Company removes feature a day after launch as users create fabricated scenes over real satellite imagery.
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[Image: Nomita Samaiyar/MITSMR India]
Google has paused an AI image-generation feature from Google Earth after users created false scenes over real satellite and aerial imagery, raising concerns about misinformation.
The company rolled back the feature less than 48 hours after adding its Nano Banana 2 image generator to Google Earth. Google said it would introduce stronger safeguards after users shared generated images that appeared to violate its policies.
The tool allowed people to enter text prompts and create fictional scenes using genuine satellite, aerial and three-dimensional imagery as the background. The resulting images could be downloaded and shared on social media or other platforms.
The feature drew scrutiny because Google Earth is widely treated as a reliable source of visual information about real locations. Journalists, researchers and emergency responders often use its imagery to examine places that are difficult to access.
BBC Verify said it created images showing a collapsed Eiffel Tower, a sinkhole at the Great Pyramid of Giza and Russian tanks in Kyiv while testing the tool. Other demonstrations included fabricated images of a nuclear facility in Iran, a refugee camp near the U.S.-Mexico border and damage beside a hospital in Gaza.
Experts warned that placing fictional events over authentic geographic imagery could make false content appear more credible. Such images could be presented as satellite evidence of military action, natural disasters, protests or damage to infrastructure.
Google said it recognized that users place particular trust in Google Earth as a representation of the physical world.
The company said generated images were created privately by individual users and were not added to the public Google Earth service. However, users could still export and circulate them without the original context.
Google said content produced by its AI tools contains invisible watermarks that can help identify whether an image was generated or altered. Users can also check images through the Gemini app or Google Lens, according to the company.
The feature will remain unavailable while Google works on additional controls. The company did not give a date for its possible return.
