Online tricksters have been creating and sharing AI-generated images purporting to show victims of Hurricane Helene, with many worrying about the impact the fake pictures are having.
Numerous AI images have gone viral online with one even being shared by a United States senator. Sen. Mike Lee, R-UT, shared an image of an upset little girl holding a puppy while in a boat in a flooded area before later deleting it. The image has been shared widely online but it is AI-generated.
Two images of the little girl have been circulating online and the differences between them are the most obvious giveaways that they are fake. The dog has different colorings in the two photos and the boat the girl is in changes color too. Other telltale signs include the classic one too many fingers and distorted artifacts.
But there have been plenty more misleading AI images purporting to be from the disaster, including dogs stranded on roofs with floodwater all around them and images of streets submersed that aren’t real. Another one show Donald Trump wading through water with a rescue worker, again false.
Eroding Public Trust
Hurricane Helene has been a catastrophe with the death toll at 227 as of yesterday, according to AP. Horrific photos of destruction and heartbreak from across North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida are aplenty but AI images are confusing the situation.
In an article for Forbes, Lars Daniel argues that these types of AI images going viral on social media are damaging to real people.
“Repeated exposure to fake content can erode public trust in legitimate news and information sources. When people repeatedly encounter false images, they begin to question all media, including accurate and necessary disaster updates,” Daniel writes for Forbes.
“The repeated exposure to fake content during disasters creates an emotional whiplash. People experience initial shock or sadness when they see images of devastation or distress, but when those images are debunked, it leads to feelings of betrayal, confusion or anger. This cycle can quickly wear down our ability to engage emotionally with real crises.”
He goes on to say that fake imagery could have an effect on charitable donations for disasters such as Helene and it could ultimately harm disaster-relief efforts.
