[AI Today] As fake bombing and refugee photos flooded in, Google urgently withdraws 'Earth AI Editing'

Google is discontinuing its generative AI image-editing feature in Google Earth and strengthening safeguards.

The move follows concern that fake scenes like bombings, refugee columns, and nuclear plants were being layered onto real satellite images and spreading online.

Google confirmed that some manipulated images had already been shared externally.

Because Google Earth is widely used for OSINT and disaster or conflict verification, such edits could undermine trust in fact-checking itself.