This week, the BC Wildfire Service posted on Facebook two aerial view images of wildfires raging across densely forested terrain with aircraft attempting to douse the flames. The images were dramatic, compelling and, the service warned, completely fake.

It was an example of a trend that has emerged with the increased availability of online tools that use artificial intelligence to generate images. Whenever disaster strikes, fakes pictures are soon to follow.

"Whether well-intentioned or intentionally misleading, misinformation is the last thing any of us need during emergencies," the wildfire service said in its post.

Here are some tips on how to spot AI-generated images of natural disasters:

CONSIDER THE CONTENT

Are the events in the image likely to have happened in real life?

Freel

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