Google pulls Earth AI generator 24 hours after launch

Google pulled its Earth AI image generator just one day after launch following widespread deepfake backlash.

The short-lived feature let users run Nano Banana 2, Google's AI image generator, directly inside the Google Earth mapping app. Users could type prompts to layer fabricated images over real satellite maps. Google said the goal was getting creative with geography, but critics quickly warned it created believable fake map evidence. TechCrunch reported that Google pulled the feature 24 hours later.

Why it matters: Journalists and researchers rely on Google Earth as a trusted source of visual evidence. Superimposing prompt-based AI images onto real-world maps threatens that trust, making geospatial misinformation far easier to generate and spread.

Google said in a statement that it rolled back the feature to implement "stronger guardrails" after people shared generated screenshots that violated its policies.

Turns out putting a fake-picture generator inside a map of the real world lasts about a day.