Google Earth adds AI image generator, raising concerns over potential misinformation

Google has added its Nano Banana 2 AI image generator to Google Earth, enabling users to overlay computer-generated scenes onto real satellite, aerial or 3D imagery and download the results. The feature, launched on Thursday, can produce scenarios such as a collapsed Eiffel Tower, a sinkhole swallowing the Great Pyramid of Giza or Russian tanks in Kyiv, according to tests by BBC Verify.

Experts said the tool could be exploited to spread false information that appears to carry Google’s credibility. AI and misinformation specialist Henk van Ess warned that fabricated images of a non-existent nuclear plant in Iran, a refugee camp on the US-Mexico border or a bomb-cratered hospital in Gaza could be generated, adding, "> The forgery does not have to look convincing on its own. It inherits the credibility of the map it was born on."

Google responded that it embeds invisible watermarks in AI-generated content and advises users to verify uncertain images with its Gemini chatbot or Lens feature. However, BBC Verify found that the checks can be bypassed, allowing the Gemini system to label fake Google Earth images as authentic.

AI-detection researcher Henry Ajdar said the ability to create false imagery in conflict zones could be "destabilising" and noted that while journalists may verify images, not all users will do so. He also highlighted the broader risk that trusted sources of information are being undermined by doubts about AI involvement.

The company’s guidelines aim to block creation of images depicting "harmful topics," yet BBC Verify observed that slight prompt modifications can circumvent these restrictions. For example, a request to depict a "raised platform to hang traitors" near the UK parliament was rejected, but a less specific prompt generated the image.

Geospatial analyst Bill Greer said satellite imagery has traditionally been viewed as highly reliable, so the new capability could damage public trust in such data.