Not an explosion

According to sources, the image was distributed by dozens of accounts on social networks. The picture shows a large plume of smoke near the building and claims there was an explosion near the Pentagon on Monday morning.

Arlington Police Department was quick to say that the image and related allegations were false.

No explosions or incidents occurred at or near the Pentagon and there was no immediate threat or danger to the public,
Arlington police wrote on Twitter on Monday.

And while the police don’t explicitly say the image is the work of AI, it does have some of the hallmarks of an AI-generated “photo”. For example, the dimensions of the pillars of the building in the fake photo are different, in some places the fence merges with the pavement, the cars merge into one formless mass, etc.

The photo was shared by dozens of accounts on social networks, including RTA Russian state media organization with more than 3 million subscribers. The post was later deleted.