Hoax image of explosion at Pentagon goes viral and caused markets to briefly dip

An image that circulated on social media showing an explosion at the Pentagon was likely generated by artificial intelligence.

The concerning fake photograph showed black smoke rising outside the key US military building in Washington DC and was seen online earlier today.

Markets dipped by around 0.26 per cent as reports of the fakery emerged at 10.06am local time, but recovered some four minutes later.

Arlington Police Department confirmed the image was a fake.

The force tweeted: “There is NO explosion or incident taking place at or near the Pentagon reservation, and there is no immediate danger or hazards to the public.”

Reports indicated the image showed clear signs it was generated by AI.

Thousands of Twitter accounts spread the image and included conspiracy accounts and even Russia Today, a state-affiliated media organisation in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Digital investigations expert and reporter Nick Waters explained the problems with the image.

The Bellingcat journalist tweeted: “Confident that this picture claiming to show an “explosion near the pentagon” is AI-generated.

“Check out the frontage of the building, and the way the fence melds into the crowd barriers. There [are] also no other images, videos or people posting as first-hand witnesses.”

He added: “Whenever an event like this takes place, it will affect a large number of people. Even leaving aside that fact this picture is clearly AI-generated, it’s immediately possible to identify this as a fake by geolocation and conducting searches on social media.”

Several accounts reported the explosion on Twitter but the image was later revealed as a fake.

Earlier this year, Twitter owner Elon Musk was among the signatories to a letter calling for a pause in the development of AI research.

The open letter by the Future of Life Institute said: “AI labs and independent experts should use this pause to jointly develop and implement a set of shared safety protocols for advanced AI design and development that are rigorously audited and overseen by independent outside experts.”

Some experts cited in the letter expressed concerns about its contents and the use of their research to call for a pause.

Other tech experts have said a pause, which signatories hope will lead to better regulation of AI use, may lead to bad actors taking advantage of the lack of development.

The British Computer Society (BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT) said in a new report, ‘Helping AI Grow Up – Without Pressing Pause’, said there should be a “light touch” approach to AI

Chief executive Rashik Parmar told Sky News: “We can’t be certain every country and company with the power to develop AI would obey a pause, when the rewards for breaking an embargo are so rich.”