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‘Verified’ Twitter accounts share fake image of ‘explosion’ near Pentagon, causing confusion
A fake image purporting to show an explosion near the Pentagon was shared by multiple verified Twitter accounts on Monday, causing confusion and leading to a brief dip in the stock market. Local officials later confirmed no such incident had occurred.
The image, which bears all the hallmarks of being generated by artificial intelligence, was shared by numerous verified accounts with blue check marks, including one that falsely claimed it was associated with Bloomberg News.
“Large explosion near the Pentagon complex in Washington DC. – initial report,” the account posted, along with an image purporting to show black smoke rising near a large building.
The account has since been suspended by Twitter. It was unclear who was behind the account or where the image originated. A spokesperson for Bloomberg News said the account is not affiliated with the news organization.
Under owner Elon Musk, Twitter has allowed anyone to obtain a verified account in exchange for a monthly payment. As a result, Twitter verification is no longer an indicator that an account represents who it claims to represent.
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.
The false reports of the explosion also made their way to air on a major Indian television network. Republic TV reported that an explosion had taken place, showing the fake image on its air and citing reports from the Russian news outlet RT. It later retracted the report when it became clear the incident had not taken place.
“Republic had aired news of a possible explosion near the Pentagon citing a post & picture tweeted by RT,” the outlet later posted on its Twitter account. “RT has deleted the post and Republic has pulled back the newsbreak.”
In a statement Tuesday, the RT press office said, “As with fast-paced news verification, we made the public aware of reports circulating and once provenance and veracity were ascertained, we took appropriate steps to correct the reporting.”
In a post on the Russian social media platform VKontakte Tuesday, RT tried to make light of its apparent error.
“Is the Pentagon on fire? Look, there’s a picture and everything. It’s not real, it’s just an AI generated image. Still, this picture managed to fool several major news outlets full of clever and attractive people, allegedly,” a post from RT read.
In the moments after the image began circulating on Twitter, the US stock market took a noticeable dip. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 80 points between 10:06 a.m. and 10:10 a.m., fully recovering by 10:13 a.m. Similarly, the broader S&P 500 went from up 0.02% at 10:06 a.m. to down 0.15% at 10:09 a.m.. By 10:11 a.m., the index was positive again.
The building in the image does not closely resemble the Pentagon and, according to experts, shows signs it may have been created using AI.
“This image shows typical signs of being AI-synthesized: there are structural mistakes on the building and fence that you would not see if, for example, someone added smoke to an existing photo,” Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and digital forensic expert told CNN.
The fire department in Arlington, Virginia, later responded in a tweet, stating that it and the Pentagon Force Protection Agency were “aware of a social media report circulating online about an explosion near the Pentagon. There is NO explosion or incident taking place at or near the Pentagon reservation, and there is no immediate danger or hazards to the public.”
注释：
hallmark: n
表示"标志；特征"，means "a distinctive characteristic or attribute"，如：One hallmark of a good politician is his ability to influence people. 衡量一个优秀政治家的标志之一就是他影响大众的能力。Clear expression is the hallmark of a good speaker. (喻)清晰的表达能力是一位出色的演说家的特征。
purport: v
表示" 意味着；声称"，means "have the often specious appearance of being, intending, or claiming;"，如：Her letter may purport her forthcoming arrival.她的来信可能意味着她快要到了。His plans are not what they purport to be. 他的计划并不如他们所声称的那样。
newsbreak: n
表示"有报导价值的事件"，means "a short news announcement concerning some on-going news story"
provenance: n
表示" 出处；起源"，means ""，如：The provenance of this poem not clear. 这首诗出处不详。This plant's provenance is Asia. 这种植物原产于亚洲。
veracity: n
表示" 真实性；诚实"，means "unwillingness to tell lies"，如：I don't doubt the veracity of your report. 我毫不怀疑你报告中的真实性.
forensic: adj
表示" 法院的；适合于辩论的"，means "used or applied in the investigation and establishment of facts or evidence in a court of law; of, relating to, or used in public debate or argument"，如：A specialist in forensic medicine was called as a witness in the murder trial.
在那桩谋杀案的审理中，一名法医专家被召来作证。
中文简要说明：
当地时间5月22日美股开盘后不久，网络上突然疯传一张美国国防部附近发生爆炸、浓烟窜升的照片，包括和俄罗斯有关的推特账号、打上蓝色勾勾的推特账号都相继转发，甚至有印度电视台以突发新闻方式报导，导致美股开盘后一度微幅下跌。不过实际上五角大厦没有发生爆炸，这张照片似乎是由AI生成。
综合美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）、美联社报导，22日上午9时30分美股开盘后，推特上突然疯传一张称五角大厦旁发生爆炸的照片，照片显示白色建筑物旁的草地上窜出浓厚黑烟，火势看来不小。
许多有蓝色勾勾的推特账号相继转发，一个自称为彭博（Bloomberg News）附属媒体的蓝勾勾账号「Bloomberg Feed」写道「五角大厦附近发生大爆炸」，包括俄国国营媒体「今日俄罗斯」（Russia Today，RT）在内等和俄罗斯有关的账号也转发照片。
这类推文随即引发美股短暂下跌，道琼指数在10时6分至10分间下跌80点，10时6分，S&P 500指数原本小涨0.02%，3分钟后下跌0.15%，随后止跌回升。
不过实际上五角大厦附近根本没发生爆炸，弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿郡（Arlington County）消防局随即发文，澄清五角大厦附近没有发生爆炸。
专家分析，这张照片可能是人工智能（AI）技术生成，加州大学柏克莱分校（University of California, Berkeley）教授、数字媒体鉴识专家法瑞德（Hany Farid）指出，照片中的白色建筑物及栅栏有许多结构错误，例如栅栏呈现不规则状，草地等有淡化迹象，都是典型的AI合成线索。
这起事件也凸显了滥用AI的风险，报导指出，除了俄罗斯媒体，确实有其他外媒一度上当，例如印度电视台「Republic TV」就以快讯方式报导五角大厦发生爆炸，他们引述的来源就是「今日俄罗斯」，「Republic TV」后续撤下报导。
另外这起事件也反映马斯克（Elon Musk）掌管推特后，要求使用者付费才会给予蓝勾勾的政策乱象，新政策下，任何用户只要每月付费，账号旁就能打上蓝勾勾，过往必须经过认证才能获得蓝勾勾的机制荡然无存，蓝勾勾不再是可信来源的指标。
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