AI-generated fake historical photos spread misinformation online

What happened

AI-generated fake historical photographs depicting events including the Great Depression, the Vietnam War, the Kennedy assassination, the Hiroshima bombing, the 1968 Prague invasion, and the Roman Coliseum have been widely shared on social media.

The images were created using Midjourney, a popular AI image generator. Examples include a fabricated photo of the Wright Brothers at their first powered flight and fake reproductions of the moment Lee Harvey Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby in 1963.

Reported impact

Historians and researchers fear the fake images are muddying public understanding of history. According to art historian Marina Amaral, the risk is that 'false visuals being accepted as fact, which could, over time, distort our understanding of history and weaken public trust in visual evidence as a reliable source for learning about the past.'

Historians currently report being able to detect AI-generated historical images by visible glitches such as too many fingers on hands or missing details, but warn it is 'only a matter of time' before the quality improves and fakes become harder to identify with the naked eye.

Index analysis

The fake historical images often depict events that are either too remote to have been photographed or are poorly documented, making them harder to dispute.

Unlike real photographs made by humans, which contain imperfections such as out-of-focus elements or accidental positioning, AI-generated images tend to be 'too perfect' or contain technical inconsistencies.

Classification

Organization

Midjourney (deployer)

Category

Misinformation and synthetic media

Industry

Media, social platforms and marketing

Country

Netherlands

Harm status

Potential harm

Intent

Unknown

Timing

Unknown

Harm types

Public interest

Harmed

General public

Failure modes

Deepfake image, Hallucination

AI systems

Midjourney

Sources and evidence

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