Bas O'

GeoConfirmed announcement. Following the ill-advised decision to discontinue support for the Google Earth desktop application and to redirect users to the less functional online version, we are witnessing yet another misstep by Google with far-reaching consequences. The fight against engagement farmers, disinformation campaigns, and adversarial actors seeking to influence public discourse is already an immense challenge. Satellite imagery has long served as a critical benchmark in countering disinformation and verifying claims, and Google Earth was one of the most important tools in this effort. It is with great concern that we are already observing individuals exploiting the new Google Earth web tool to make military positions, relabel buildings as schools,... and experiment with manipulating the information environment. In effect, users can now fabricate or alter satellite-derived visuals to support false narratives. The primary, and perhaps only, practical use of this tool appears to be the creation and dissemination of mis- and disinformation. Users can fabricate scenes or objects that do not exist, or alter real locations to depict false realities, and then distribute these manipulated visuals online as if they were authentic. Fact-checkers may soon find themselves verifying Google satellite imagery using...Google satellite imagery, rather than fact-checking the original claims. As some experienced geolocators have noted: “We just realized that geolocators are going to have to waste time geolocating fake Google Earth images now to debunk disinformation. This is fucking chaos.” We urge @Google to reconsider this decision. @googleearth should aid the global effort against dis- and misinformation, not inadvertently enable it. Do not become like X.