Overview
- Google integrated its Nano Banana 2 image model into the web version of Google Earth to let users generate hyperreal images from satellite, aerial and 3D map content by typing text prompts.
- Within about 24 to 48 hours of the global rollout, journalists and researchers used the tool to create convincing fake satellite-like scenes such as explosions, military hardware and fabricated infrastructure.
- Google responded by temporarily disabling the image-generation button in Google Earth and said generated images include SynthID watermarks and can be checked with Gemini or Google Lens.
- Experts and OSINT practitioners warn that watermarks and platform-side checks may not stop rapid export and social-media spread of falsified images, which could erode trust in satellite imagery used for verification.
- Google has not given a date to restore the feature and says it will build stricter safeguards first, a move that could affect how educators, architects and investigators use geospatial AI tools going forward.