Scary AI image spreads, affects stock market.

Fake AI-Generated Image Causes Panic and Stock Market Dip

An AI-generated image of what appeared to be an explosion at the Pentagon circulated on Twitter on Monday, causing panic and a 0.26% dip in the stock market in just four minutes. The image was later found to be fake and was spread through multiple trusted and verified accounts. The incident highlights the danger of easily manipulated information and the need for better verification processes on social media.

AI-Generated Image Goes Viral

On Monday, an image began circulating on Twitter of what appeared to be thick black smoke billowing from the Pentagon in what appeared to be some kind of explosion or attack. The image was later found to be an AI-generated fake, but not before it caused panic and a 0.26% dip in the stock market in just four minutes.

“This isn’t an AI issue, per se. Anyone with Photoshop experience could have made that image — ironically, could probably have done it better,” said Renée DiResta, research manager at Stanford Internet Observatory. “But it’s a look at how signals that help people decide whether information about breaking news is trustworthy on Twitter have been rendered useless, just as the capacity to create high-resolution unreality has been made available to everyone.”

Twitter Apologizes for the Spread of the Image

The Twitter account OSINTdefender, which spread the image, later apologized. “It’s appears that the Image being circulated is an AI Generated Picture which just shows how easily these sort of Images can be used to ‘Manipulate’ the Information Space and how Dangerous this could be in the Future. It’s honestly crazy to me that this is now possible,” the account posted.

Some blamed Twitter for the spread of the photo, which was done through multiple trusted and verified accounts. Sam Gregory, executive director of the human rights organization Witness, said, “The way people are exposed to these shallow fakes, it doesn’t require something to look exactly like something else for it to get attention. People will readily take and share things that don’t look exactly right but feel right.”

Verification Processes Need Improvement

The incident highlights the need for better verification processes on social media. Nate Hiner, an Arlington Fire Department captain who handles the Northern Virginia department’s emergency communications, told The Washington Post it was obvious from the image it was a fraud. “Just looking at the image itself, that’s not the Pentagon. I have no idea what that building is. There’s no building that looks like that in Arlington.”

He said at 10:10 a.m. he was informed about the reports of damage at the Pentagon. “There were no medical calls, no fire calls, no incidents whatsoever,” he said, explaining why he was able to determine nothing had taken place. At that point, he found the photo on social media, checked with the Department of Defense and the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, then posted that the photo was fake. It took 20 minutes.

The incident also highlights the danger of easily manipulated information and the need for better verification processes on social media. “Sometimes they’re doing it maliciously, or sometimes they’re just doing it to get a lot of views. You can get a lot of audience very quickly from this, and that is a powerful drug,” said Sam Gregory, executive director of the human rights organization Witness.