Fraudulent accounts are using the Titan submarine disaster to spread fake images generated by artificial intelligence that allegedly show wreckage on the seabed.
On Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that it had found the wreckage of the Titanic, all five passengers on board of which are presumed dead. No official photos of the wreckage were published, but this did not stop some people from spreading fake photos generated by artificial intelligence.
Starting on Thursday, several Twitter and Facebook accounts shared photos purportedly showing the wreckage of the Titanic at the bottom of the ocean.
But if you look closely, the images do not correspond to reality. First, the wreckage looks more like a destroyed rocket engine than a submarine. The images also look overly crisp and perfectly lit compared to those deep underwater, where there is no light at all. On Thursday, the US Coast Guard announced that it had found the “tail end” of an underwater vehicle near the bow of the Titanic, which is now at a depth of approximately 3.8 kilometers below sea level.
Other discrepancies include the fact that several images from above show the sea surface and coral growing over the wreckage, while Titan probably collapsed only a few days ago.
Meanwhile, a separate image showing shoes among the debris was not generated by artificial intelligence. Instead, this is a real photo taken at the site of the Titanic’s sinking almost 20 years ago.
Despite the obvious drawbacks, the fake images generated by artificial intelligence have already received more than 700,000 views from users on Twitter. In addition, some of the accounts that shared the images have a blue checkmark that used to signify legitimacy, but now it can be purchased for just a few dollars.
