Google Suspends AI Feature in Google Earth After Users Create Fake Satellite Images

Less than 48 hours after launching a new AI-powered feature in Google Earth, Google has suspended the tool amid concerns it enables the creation of fake satellite images that could spread disinformation. The feature integrated the Nano Banana 2 image generator, allowing users to add fabricated objects, structures, and events onto real satellite, aerial, and 3D images via text prompts. These manipulated images could then be downloaded and shared on social media.

Google announced the suspension on July 31, 2026, stating it would pause the feature "while working on stronger safeguards" after detecting users sharing AI-generated images that potentially violated company policies. The company emphasized the unique trust users place in Google Earth as a reliable representation of the world.

Investigations by the BBC demonstrated how the tool could produce highly convincing fake scenarios, such as the Eiffel Tower collapsing in Paris, a massive sinkhole swallowing the Great Pyramid of Giza, and Russian tanks in central Kyiv. Experts warned the danger lies not just in image quality but in the AI-generated content being seamlessly integrated with authentic map locations, lending the fakes high credibility.

Disinformation expert Henk van Ess created fabricated images including a nuclear power plant in Iran, a refugee camp at the US-Mexico border, and a fake hospital with a crater in Gaza. He noted, "The fake does not need to be convincing by itself; it inherits the credibility of the map it is created on."

Google said all AI-generated images carry invisible watermarks and can be verified using tools like Gemini or Google Lens. However, BBC tests found some images bypassed detection, with Gemini sometimes misidentifying fakes as real. Attempts to circumvent Google’s safeguards by altering prompt wording were also successful, allowing some prohibited content to be generated indirectly.

Experts like Henry Ajder highlighted the risks of fake satellite images in fast-moving conflict or disaster zones, where misinformation could destabilize situations and mislead journalists and the public. Geospatial analyst Bill Grier warned that the proliferation of such fakes, combined with reduced access to genuine satellite data, threatens public trust in satellite imagery, which has long been considered a highly reliable information source.

Google’s move to halt the AI feature reflects growing concerns about the potential misuse of AI-generated visual content in critical global contexts.