Perhaps you saw it while scrolling on social media. Maybe you even believed it.
If so, don't beat yourself up too badly. Many, many others believed it, too.
An image showing an explosion, purportedly at the Pentagon.
It was first shared Monday on Twitter with the caption, "Large explosion near the Pentagon complex in Washington DC. – initial report."
Well, it didn't take long before the thing went viral. Millions saw it. the stock market even took a brief downward turn on the news.
But it was all fake, an image probably synthesized using artificial intelligence, a digital forensics expert at the University of California, Berkeley, told CNN.
We've all seen the power social media has to spread false information with even simple posts or crude memes. But using AI to generate false information is a game-changer. It means users must be extra careful before sharing something they see on Facebook, Twitter or the like.
If you don't know it's true, just stay away from the share icon. That's always been a good policy. Even more so now.