NASA’s Artemis II is set to return to Earth on Friday, after its astronauts travelled further from Earth than any humans before. But the historic lunar flyby also inflamed conspiracy theories online about a “staged” mission, and triggered a wave of fake viral AI videos.
From the dark side of the moon to the dark side of the internet…scores of social media users falsely claimed NASA’s mission was filmed using a green screen, sharing AI images of a staging, as well as a CNN live interview snippet where the floating Artemis mascot was “glitching” as text appeared to bleed through the solid plush toy.
In reality, the CNN live stream shows no such defect. The viral video – filmed on a mobile phone camera- is likely a television graphics error, with text overlaid behind the footage by the broadcaster.
As well as the stunning, authentic photos of the Moon and Earth sent by the Artemis II crew, there’s also scores of fantastical – and AI-generated – images going viral, racking up millions of views.
Vedika Bahl separates fact from science fiction, in Truth or Fake.
