Google Earth's AI Feature Backfires and Gets Pulled After 24 Hours

Tech giant Google aimed to enhance user experience with generative AI on Google Earth, but its new feature nearly became the biggest accomplice to fake news and misinformation. After only 24 hours online, it faced intense backlash and was forced into emergency removal. According to international media reports, Google recently introduced a new 'Create Image' AI generation feature on its Google Earth platform, allowing users to overlay AI-generated images onto real satellite, aerial, and 3D map views. However, this seemingly innovative function was heavily criticized by cybersecurity experts and fact-checking organizations across multiple countries within just 24 hours of launch, forcing Google to announce an immediate takedown. Why is this feature so controversial? Users can zoom into any location on the map and generate AI images by combining satellite and regional data. Before the feature was taken down, AFP journalists tested it and found that simple prompts could generate highly realistic 'crater' marks on Russian maps or create an explosion scene in central Paris. With minimal effort, users could easily fabricate geographic scenarios such as floods in Bangladesh or migrant caravans at the U.S.-Mexico border. AI image recognition expert Henk Van Ess expressed shock on social media: 'Tonight, I can place refugee camps at the U.S.-Mexico border just by typing in Google Earth. Then I can build a nuclear plant in Iran. What exactly is Google trying to do?' The trust built over decades is at risk. In recent years, as generative AI and deepfake images have become increasingly rampant, high-resolution satellite imagery has become a core tool for journalists, OSINT (open-source intelligence) researchers, and fact-checking organizations to verify real information and combat fake news. Experts warn that if Google continues to allow such features, they will inevitably be exploited by malicious actors, undermining the trust Google Earth has built over many years. Brady Africk, an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), believes that such synthetic images spread extremely quickly online. Once misused, they could severely erode public trust in satellite imagery and make the work of media and researchers even more difficult. Ross Burley, Director of the UK's Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), directly criticized Google, calling the move highly irresponsible: 'Public trust in satellite imagery took decades to build, and it could now be irreversibly destroyed overnight.' Facing overwhelming criticism, Google quickly pulled the feature. Bryan Horowitz, Product Manager for Google Earth, issued a statement: 'We recognize the public deeply trusts Google Earth to show the real world. While we've seen geospatial professionals use the new feature for beneficial purposes, we've also observed screenshots of generated imagery being shared that violate our policies.'