{"id":2902,"date":"2026-07-31T21:36:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanhomejournals.com\/?p=2902"},"modified":"2026-07-31T21:36:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:36:44","slug":"google-earths-new-ai-image-generation-function-didnt-survive-a-day-after-users-deepfaked-disasters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanhomejournals.com\/?p=2902","title":{"rendered":"Google Earth’s new AI image generation function didn’t survive a day after users deepfaked disasters"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Google pulled a new AI image-editing feature from Google Earth less than 24 hours after launch,<\/p>\n

Read more Samsung S95H TV review: The brightest OLED I\u2019ve tested<\/a><\/p>\n

The company launched the function on Thursday, allowing Gemini’s Nano Banana 2 image model to access Google Earth and transform locations with text prompts.<\/p>\n

The function, however, quickly got out of hand. AI researcher Henk van Ess, for example, created extremely realistic deepfakes, including fake refugee camps along the US-Mexico border and a nuclear plant in Iran.<\/p>\n

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Tonight I typed just one sentence into Google Earth and put refugees near the Mexican border. Then I planted a nuclear plant in Iran. What on earth is Google doing? Check my latest post here: https:\/\/t.co\/N0h6CVECqS pic.twitter.com\/WSjdcEXWJx<\/p>\n

\u2014 \ud835\ude91\ud835\ude8e\ud835\ude97\ud835\ude94 \ud835\ude9f\ud835\ude8a\ud835\ude97 \ud835\ude8e\ud835\ude9c\ud835\ude9c (@henkvaness) July 30, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Other users used the tool to create AI images of a nonexistent flood and a 9\/11-style attack.<\/p>\n

\n
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Heads up Mets and emergency managers. <\/p>\n

Google Maps AI gen tool now freely accessible and easy to use. I spoofed flooding and tor damage in 20 seconds<\/p>\n

*NOT REAL IMAGES* https:\/\/t.co\/NkYPxD89Om pic.twitter.com\/tbMgf8B5Oy<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018We let you down this month:\u2019 Read Leopold Aschenbrenner\u2019s letter to investors after his fund lost 67% this month<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Peter Forister \ud83c\udf41\ud83c\udf42\ud83c\udf41 (@forecaster25) July 31, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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@Google @googleearth Really great and useful feature you have here, I don’t see any downside whatsoever pic.twitter.com\/5rOByNxpmL<\/p>\n

\u2014 Sonic from the Undeground (@MDualsense) July 30, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

By Friday, Google had reversed course.<\/p>\n

“We’ve seen geospatial professionals using this feature for a range of useful purposes, however we’ve also seen people sharing screenshots of generated imagery that appear to violate our policies,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement posted on X. “So we’re rolling back this feature in Google Earth while we work on implementing stronger guardrails.”<\/p>\n

Google added that the AI-generated images were watermarked and never appeared in the public Google Earth experience.<\/p>\n

Google is not the only company that has lately rolled out AI features only to quickly remove them. Meta launched Muse Image on July 7 with a feature that allowed users to generate AI images using images available on all adult-owned public Instagram accounts that had not changed their settings to opt out. Meta removed the feature in less than a week and said it had “missed the mark.”<\/p>\n

Read more Leopold Aschenbrenner\u2019s meltdown helped AI stocks soar. It likely came too late to save other funds\u2019 July returns.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Google pulled its AI image-editing feature from Google Earth within 24 hours of its launch, after users created deepfakes depicting disasters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech"],"yoast_head":"\nGoogle Earth's new AI image generation function didn't survive a day after users deepfaked disasters - American home journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanhomejournals.com\/?p=2902\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Google Earth's new AI image generation function didn't survive a day after users deepfaked disasters - 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