Description: During Hurricane Helene (September 24-29, 2024), AI-generated images circulated on social media, misleading the public and hindering disaster response efforts. Fake images, including animals stranded on rooftops and political figures in floodwaters, added confusion and disrupted emergency management. The spread of these images exacerbated existing challenges, including power outages and communication failures, all of which led to complications providing accurate information to those in need.
Editor Notes: Motives for the misinformation seemed partisan in nature, while some appeared opportunistic and fraudulent.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Unknown deepfake technology developers developed an AI system deployed by Unknown deepfake creators and Partisan social media influencers, which harmed Hurricane Helene victims , General public , Emergency responders and Communities impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Incident Stats
Incident ID
817
Report Count
7
Incident Date
2024-09-24
Editors
Daniel Atherton
Incident Reports
Reports Timeline
forbes.com · 2024
- View the original report at its source
- View the report at the Internet Archive
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Asheville, North Carolina and other impacted regions were flooded with water, while fake generative AI images of destruction and human suffering flooded social media.
These doctored or faked visuals can…
theatlantic.com · 2024
- View the original report at its source
- View the report at the Internet Archive
Keeping track of events during a natural disaster was hard enough in the past, before people with dubious motives started flooding social media with sensational images generated by artificial intelligence. In a crisis, public officials, fir…