Analysis by Is It AI?
Likely AI-Generated: Large Smoke Plume Near Building
A large dark cloud of smoke rises near a multi-story white building with columns and surrounding fencing.
Why we think so
Likely AI-generatedThis image is likely AI-generated, supported by high detection confidence and reports from multiple fact-checking organizations.
A large dark cloud of smoke rises near a multi-story white building with columns and surrounding fencing.
What the evidence says
- An AI detection model analyzed the picture and flagged it as AI-generated with 99% confidence.
- Fact-checking organizations rated claims tied to the photo as false, identifying it as a synthetic image.
- Online records show exact copies first appearing in May 2023 alongside news articles about viral fake images.
- Visible flaws in the fence structure and building columns align with typical AI generation patterns.
Visible signs of AI generation
- Warped building columns and inconsistent window alignment on the structure
- Fencing that merges unnaturally into the surrounding grass and pavement
What could change this
- Detection models provide probabilistic estimates rather than absolute proof.
- Visual artifacts can sometimes result from heavy digital compression or editing.
What it means
The image shows strong indications of synthetic generation. It should not be shared as a authentic photograph of a real incident.
Weighs our detection model, where the image appears online and published fact checks together. Like any single signal, it can be wrong.
Where this image has appeared
This exact image was found on 30 pages across 19 sites, so it is already published elsewhere and is not original to this upload.
Earliest copy we could confirm: May 23, 2023 on independent.co.uk, and another site dates it close to then. Only 11 of 30 pages gave a date, so the image may be older than this.
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AI-Generated Image of Pentagon Explosion Caused Markets to Dip
Exact copy
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Fake AI image of Pentagon exploding goes viral on Twitter and ...
Exact copy
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«The Pentagon is on fire»: the photo goes viral but it is fake. Decline ...
Exact copy
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Deepfakes spell deep trouble for markets - AFR
Exact copy
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Humanity and the Al-Created World: Are We Ready? - ETDA
Exact copy
- Fake, AI-generated Pentagon Attack Image Stirs Market Turmoil Exact copy
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5 bills become law without Gov. Green's signature - Spectrum News
Edited copy
- Combating misinformation in the age of LLMs - ResearchGate Edited copy
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Anti-Voice accounts on Twitter 'abusive with impunity' by using false ...
Edited copy
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Truth or Fake - Page 26 - France 24
Edited copy
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AI Image of Pentagon Explosion Caused Stock Market to Dip
Edited copy
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That Fake AI Generated Photo and the Stock Market
Edited copy
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Applications of Multimodal AI Technology in Media - note
Edited copy
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Hedging Against Trust-Loss in the Disinformation Age | Proceedings
Edited copy
- Fake Pentagon explosion image spreads online - AFP Fact Check Edited copy
- An image generated through Artificial Intelligence which depicted ... Edited copy
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Seeing is disbelieving: How to spot an AI-generated image - RTE
Edited copy
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These six questions will dictate the future of generative AI
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How Easy Is It to Fool A.I.-Detection Tools? - The New York Times
Edited copy
Matches come from the indexed web. Pages behind a login are not searchable, so this is a floor on where the image appears, never a complete list.
Published fact checks about this image
Independent fact checkers have published reviews featuring this image. Their ratings are about claims made with the image, not about whether it was made with AI.
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rated by Vishvas News
May 24, 2023
“Huge explosion near Pentagon”
Read the check on vishvasnews.com - rated by The Quint May 23, 2023 Read the check on thequint.com
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rated by Maldita.es
May 23, 2023
“Explosión en el Pentágono”
Read the check on maldita.es
Ratings and claims are quoted from each fact checker's own page.
Why this verdict can be trusted
95%+
Detection accuracy on independent benchmarks
20+
AI generators detected, including the latest
Millions
Labeled images used to train the detection models
Detects:
Midjourney
DALL-E 3
Stable Diffusion
Nano Banana
ChatGPT Image
Adobe Firefly
FLUX
Ideogram
Kling AI
Sora
What we analyzed
We classified this image as likely AI-generated with 99% confidence. The detection signal most closely matches output from stable_diffusion, with a method confidence of 99%.
How Is It AI? classifies images
Is It AI? uses deep-learning models trained on millions of labeled images, spanning both camera-captured photographs and outputs from contemporary generators like Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, Nano Banana, Flux, and others. The models analyze each image for pixel-level artifacts, frequency-domain noise patterns, and generator-specific signatures that the human eye typically misses.
The result is a probabilistic detection signal, not absolute proof. For high-stakes decisions like newsroom verification, fraud investigation, or evidence review, combine it with source verification, metadata review, reverse image search, and human judgement.
Common signs of AI-generated images
Models like the one that produced this image often leave subtle traces. Look for:
- Plastic-smooth skin without natural pore texture or asymmetry
- Hands and fingers that fuse, miscount, or wrap inconsistently
- Backgrounds with repeating textures, melting geometry, or lighting that doesn't match the subject
- Type and signage that resolves into invented characters under zoom
- Reflections and shadows that don't match the implied light source
These are heuristics, not guarantees. A skilled retoucher or a newer generator can defeat any single cue. Always cross-check.
About public detection results
A user chose to share it. Results on IsItAI.com are private by default; only results a user shares get a public page.
No. The result is a detection signal based on visual patterns, not absolute proof. For high-impact decisions, combine it with source verification, metadata review, reverse image search, and human review.
No. A public result page is created only when a user chooses to share their result.
Is It AI? achieves 95%+ accuracy across 20+ major AI image generators in independent third-party benchmarks. Accuracy varies by generator and image content, so we recommend testing with your own images and using the result as one signal alongside source verification.
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