In a viral poston X (archived here), a user wrote that "Kunar province in Afghanistan has been severely impacted by a powerful earthquake, leaving residents injured and devastated." The user posted a picture in support of an appeal: "The community is in urgent need of immediate crisis response and assistance."

Original publisher’s rating

DW Fact check: Fake. The scene in the image is cluttered with visual cues meant to foreshadow disaster: demolished houses, people standing outside, a fire burning in the rubble, with the moon partly hidden by clouds over the mountains. This alone is enough to set off alarm bells that the image could be generated with the help of AI. It's as if the picture were crafted with lots of time and attention to detail. How to research whether an image is authentic? A simple search of the image revealed its origin: "Made with Google AI." There are also visible flaws in the image itself: shadows are cast on the same side as the light source, when they should fall in the opposite direction. The people in the image appear to be wearing winter clothes, and they look strikingly calm. When compared with genuine photos from the area, one can see that locals are not dressed in winter clothing.

Reviewed by Deutsche Welle ↗ · September 2, 2025