An AI-generated image of a fake explosion outside the Pentagon caused panic and rocked the stock exchange as the hoax spread on Twitter and other online sources.
The dissemination of this misleading image prompted fact-checkers to swiftly counter the false narrative as it gained traction through various verified accounts.
The picture was circulated by a series of verified news and open-source intelligence Twitter accounts, portraying a substantial plume of smoke adjacent to a rectangular structure bearing only a vague resemblance to the Pentagon.
As of late April, Twitter’s verified users were comprised of individuals who subscribed to the company’s “Blue” service for $8 monthly. However, the service grants the blue check mark and a few additional benefits without verifying the user’s identity.
The initial sharing of the image on Twitter originated from an account with the username @ CBKNews121. The verified account prominently exhibits symbols linked to conspiracy theories, featuring an image of John F. Kennedy Jr. on its profile.
Shortly after posting the image, CBKNews tweeted a message supporting QAnon.
Despite a lack of response to Twitter inquiries and the subsequent deletion of the tweet featuring the Pentagon explosion, the image had already taken on a life of its own.
About an hour after the initial post, RT, the official propaganda outlet of Russia, tweeted about alleged reports of an explosion near the Pentagon. Shortly after, a highly influential business news aggregator on Twitter with over 650,000 followers shared a post about a significant explosion near The Pentagon Complex. Despite the subsequent removal of the tweet, it gained considerable attention and received numerous retweets before being taken down.
The amplification of the tweet unsettled some investors, as the S&P 500 experienced a sharp drop in value during the moments after well-followed accounts sent the image. However, the market later regained its losses. Shortly following this event, the anonymous Wall Street news blog ZeroHedge shared the fabricated Pentagon explosion image with its 1.6 million followers, accompanied by the caption “EXPLOSION NEAR PENTAGON.” ZeroHedge subsequently deleted the tweet.
Within a short time, the Arlington, Virginia, fire department took to Twitter to clarify that no explosion or incident occurred at or near the Pentagon.
