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Google Earth’s AI deepfake tool only lasted one day
Google has withdrawn a feature from its Google Earth mapping app a day after launching it. The tool used the company's AI image generator to let users edit satellite imagery with text prompts. Critics warned that it could spread misinformation. Google said it was removing the feature while it implements stronger guardrails, citing screenshots that appeared to violate its policies.
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- TechCrunch2026-07-31 · rssGoogle nixes its Earth AI feature one day after launch, amid criticism it would spread misinformation. A tool that allowed anyone to generate fake AI-generated imagery and superimpose it over real Google Earth maps quickly spurred backlash.
- The Verge2026-07-31 · rssHere’s the problem with putting an AI image generator in Google Earth. Now a text prompt is all it takes to generate reality-warping images using Google Earth's satellite, aerial, and 3D imagery, like these images generated by Digital Digging's Henk van Ess that show "refugees near the Mexican border" and a bomb crater near a hospital in Gaza. Google responded to Digital Digging's AI-altered image
- The Verge2026-07-31 · rssGoogle Earth’s AI deepfake tool only lasted one day. Google has shut down Google Earth feature it launched Thursday that allowed users to edit satellite images with text prompts using AI. The tool essentially let users create AI deepfakes of the real world using text prompts; Digital Digging's Henk van Ess, for example, intentionally generated images adding things like refugees near the Mexi