Online confusion has spread following Mount Etna's eruption on 2 June. Some users have called into question real footage of the incident, while others have shared old images of the volcano in action.
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Although Mount Etna's latest eruption — which occurred on 2 June — may be well-documented, online users have been calling into question how real footage of the incident is.
Videos of tourists scurrying down Mount Etna may have gone viral and been spread by mainstream media, but some users have claimed the footage is actually AI-generated.
A number of others have turned to Grok — the X platform's chatbot — to ask whether the footage is authentic.
The footage is in fact authentic, and individuals can be seen scurrying down Mount Etna in a video filmed by the Associated Press.
However, as AI becomes increasingly sophisticated, its ability to produce content that is indistinguishable from real-life images also increases.
This has led to an increasing number of online users becoming suspicious of extraordinary yet authentic footage, due to the high prevalence of AI-generated content online.
In a recent survey conducted by Adobe, nearly three-quarters of respondents said they had questioned the authenticity of photos and videos even from reputable news sites due to the sheer amount of misinformation that circulates.
Another widely shared image shows Mount Etna erupting into a white mushroom cloud. A Facebook post of the image, shared by an account called Travel Wonders on 2 June, garnered more than 72,000 likes.
However, by conducting a reverse image search, EuroVerify found that the image matched other photos taken in 2015, just metres away from the same spot.
The original image has also featured in multiple academic reports, which confirms the photo is from 4 December 2015 and therefore has nothing to do with the latest eruption.