Google has withdrawn an artificial intelligence feature in Google Earth that allowed users to generate realistic but fake satellite images, following criticism from researchers and open-source intelligence experts over its potential to fuel misinformation.
Gatekeepers News reports that the feature, introduced on Thursday, integrated Google’s Nano Banana 2 image-generation technology, enabling users to zoom into locations and create AI-generated satellite, aerial and 3D map imagery within seconds.
Announcing the launch, Google Earth had said, “Today we’re bringing AI image generation with Nano Banana to Google Earth, letting you virtually reimagine anywhere in the real world.”
Soon after its release, however, the tool drew widespread concern after users demonstrated how it could generate convincing but fabricated scenes.
According to BBC Verify, the feature created fake images depicting a collapsed Eiffel Tower, a sinkhole swallowing the Great Pyramid of Giza and Russian tanks inside Ukraine’s capital.
AFP also reported generating fabricated satellite imagery showing an explosion in Paris, a nuclear facility in Iran, a bomb crater in Russia and an Islamic State training camp in Syria.
The tool further responded to prompts depicting floods across Bangladesh, a migrant caravan at the US-Mexico border and a suspicious warehouse containing vans in the US state of Georgia, one of several states that US President Donald Trump has repeatedly alleged, without evidence, experienced widespread election fraud.
Ross Burley, Executive Director of the London-based Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), condemned the feature.
“I cannot stress how irresponsible this is,” he said.
He added, “Trust in satellite imagery has taken decades to build and could be irrevocably damaged overnight.”
CIR joined other researchers in calling on Google to remove the tool.
Responding on Friday, Google said it recognised the trust users place in Google Earth but acknowledged that misuse of the feature had prompted its removal.
The company said, “We’ve seen geospatial professionals using this feature for a range of useful purposes, however we’ve also seen people sharing screenshots of generated imagery that appear to violate our policies.”
Google added, “So we’re rolling back this feature in Google Earth while we work on implementing stronger guardrails. It’s important to note that generated images didn’t appear in the main Google Earth experience for others to see and were watermarked as AI generated.”
The company did not indicate when or if the feature would return but said it is working to strengthen safeguards before considering a wider rollout.
