Dozens Images of the war in the Gaza Strip, apparently created using artificial intelligence, have gone viral in recent days following the viral success of an Instagram post called “All Eyes on Rafah,” which now has over 47 million views. More has been shared. Times
The images, a mix of Arsal and pro-Palestinian letters, include a copy of the original Rafah post as well as more graphic imagery, including a bloodied Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an Israeli child confronted by a Hamas fighter. . An apparently AI-generated image shows a large crowd gathered in a town square with large letters reading “Bring them home now”, a reference to the 125 Israeli hostages held in Gaza. It has been shared over 134,000 times on Instagram.
The sudden and rapid spread of the images comes as international attention is refocused after an Israeli airstrike in Rafah killed at least 45 civilians on Sunday, according to local officials. were killed
The spread of the images underscores what is an ongoing battle for attention on social media between pro-Israel voices and those who support its campaign in Gaza and the Palestinians. And while AI images have become increasingly common on the Internet, their use on Instagram — a platform that has at times avoided the news while remaining an important outlet for Palestinian journalists — indicates How technology is already influencing political speech online.
Soon after the “All Eyes on Rafah” photo went viral, pro-Israel images began to circulate. Images have many characteristics of AI-generated content, including repetitive or blurred visual elements. Some of the accounts and the people who posted the photos explained the use of AI to create them.
The images have posed a challenge for Meta, specifically how to enforce its policies against AI-generated content and depictions of violence.
On Wednesday, several Israeli media outlets reported that a pro-Israel Instagram template responding to the “Rafah” photo had been removed from Instagram by the platform. The AI-generated image shows a Hamas gunman standing over a child in a pool of blood and a burning Israeli flag with the words, “Where were your eyes on October 7?”
Israel's official Instagram account posted a number of reactions to the removal of the image, complaining in a now-deleted post, “Instagram decided to remove the template, intentionally causing people to share the October 7 incident.” Silenced.”
The Times of Israel reported that the original designation had been reinstated. Meta said the image did not violate its terms of use and was removed in error.
Many photos are uploaded to Instagram's “Templates” feature that lets users quickly share posts across their accounts.
Some viral templates show graphic images that appear to be created by AI, depicting Netanyahu lying in various contexts, including with blood on his hands and body. One photo, which has been shared over five million times on Instagram, shows Netanyahu in a pool of blood, with the text reading “Terrorist baby killer!”
Meta has said it hopes political content won't expand in the 2024 presidential election, but the proliferation of such images suggests the platform may struggle to meet that goal in the age of AI. Is.
Despite a new initiative by Meta to more strictly label AI-generated content on its platforms, none of the templates seen by NBC News specified that the images were created with AI.
After the original “Rafah” photo went viral, many pro-Palestinian activists criticized the use of AI in sharing their message, arguing that it whitewashes the true horrors of the war.