Google Earth adds AI image generation with Nano Banana 2

Google just rolled out a controversial new feature for Google Earth that lets users generate AI-powered images on top of satellite imagery in seconds, using its Nano Banana 2 image-generation model. The 'create image' tool integrates Google Earth's vast mapping data to allow rapid visualization of locations, which Google positions as useful for historical recreation or real estate planning.

However, this innovation has triggered alarm among disinformation researchers and open-source intelligence experts. Critics argue the tool could be weaponized to create hyper-realistic fake satellite imagery that inherits the inherent credibility of Google's mapping data, making it harder to detect as fabrications. Henk Van Ess, a digital investigations expert, warned on Substack that "Google spent 20 years building the reference the world checks against. Today it added a button that makes things up." The concern is that bad actors could use such fakes to spread misinformation, undermine journalistic verification, or manipulate public perception with falsified geographic evidence.