The dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) spreading harmful misinformation were made clear once again on Monday, when local fire service officials were forced to confirm there had not been an ‘explosion’ at the Pentagon in Virginia – despite an AI-generated image appearing to suggest there had been. The main image, shared by several fake accounts with blue tick ‘verification’, depicts black smoke billowing close to the Pentagon building, with another showing a distant photo of smoke next to the US defence department headquarters. Stating that the reports are unfounded, the Arlington Fire and Emergency Medical Services Twitter account wrote: “[The Pentagon Force Protection Agency] and the ACFD [Arlington County Fire Department] are aware of a social media report circulating online about an explosion near the Pentagon. “There is NO explosion or incident taking place at or near the Pentagon reservation, and there is no immediate danger or hazards to the public.” Fortunately, while paid-for blue tick accounts have been promised greater promotion on Twitter, a search for ‘Pentagon’ on the social media network brings up a string of tweets from ‘unverified’ accounts debunking the AI image: Stocks reportedly tanked following the fake image, and it isn’t the first time that’s happened, either. The pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly saw a sudden drop last year when an imposter tweeted “insulin is free”. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter And if tricksters aren’t targeting the Pentagon with AI-generated imagery, then they’re using the software to create pictures of the Pope in a puffer jacket and former US President Donald Trump being arrested. In fact, it was only last month that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York representative, warned of “major potential harm” at the hands of fake AI images. “Jokes aside, this is setting the stage for major potential harm when a natural disaster hits and no one knows what agencies, reporters, or outlets are real. “Not long ago we had major flash floods. We had to mobilize trusted info fast to save lives. Today just made that harder,” she said. It seems we’re there already… Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Wagner mercenaries’ challenge to the Russian regime was a stark reminder of the “corrosive effect” of the war on Vladimir Putin’s leadership, head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said. Delivering the annual lecture at the Ditchley Foundation in the UK, William Burns said “disaffection with the war will continue to gnaw away at the Russian leadership”. His comments came a week after the failed mutiny by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. “That disaffection creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us at CIA,” he said, referring to the role of the agency in recruiting human agents in providing intelligence to the agency. In Ukraine, residents of Kyiv woke up to air raid sirens after Russia launched an overnight drone attack, the first attack on the capital in 12 days, an official said. “Another enemy attack on Kyiv,” Serhiy Popko, a colonel general who heads Kyiv’s military administration said. Ukrainian air defence system repelled the drone attacks, the official said, adding that there is no information about possible casualties or damage. Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russia is “technically ready” to provoke a localised explosion at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and that there is a “serious threat”. Read More Ukraine holds drills in Zaporizhzhia to prepare for radiation leaks from Russian-held nuclear plant Ukraine’s push to smash Russian defences on the battlefield: ‘Small advances have colossal meaning’ Pence makes a surprise trip to Ukraine and meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Mystery surrounds fate of Russia’s ‘General Armageddon’ in wake of Wagner mutiny

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Donald Trump’s criminal trial over a stash of White House documents recovered from his home in an FBI raid may not take place until November. That was the request that Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith filed late Friday evening with Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing the prosecution of the former president. ABC News first reported the filing, which cites the need for prosecutorial staff to obtain security clearances as one of the key reasons for their requested delay past the original trial date in August. A second motion requests that Ms Cannon prevent the release of a list of witnesses for the trial whom the Justice Department will seek Mr Trump be barred from contacting. Among other crimes, the ex-president is also charged with witness tampering, and has been ordered not to be in contact with one of his close aides: Walt Nauta. The development means that any trial will likely begin after at least the initial GOP primary debate this summer and could very well continue through voting in early primary states next year. Mr Trump has plead not guilty to all 37 counts, and loudly decried what he calls a witch hunt against him. But senior officials from his own administration have undercut that defence, unwilling to propagate the fantasy that Mr Trump had the authority to retain classified documents that pertained to national defence or the nonsense theory that the trove is somehow comparable to much smaller batches of presidential records recovered (without resistance, unlike in Mr Trump’s case) from the homes of Mike Pence and Joe Biden. His allies have claimed without evidence that the Justice Department is coordinating with the White House on the case, and have held strong to the idea that their leader did nothing wrong. But new evidence obtained by news outlets indicates that Mr Trump even spoke to reporters about a document in his possession which he verbally acknowledged was still classified. Mr Smith’s case exploded into view last year with the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago; now, it is one of more than a half dozen criminal and civil legal fights bearing down on the former president. Aside from being accused of violating the Espionage Act with his trove of (allegedly) stolen documents, Mr Trump is also accused of 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York; in addition, the actions of the ex-president and his legal team are thought to be at the centre of a grand jury investigation in Georgia over the efforts to change the election results in that state. Read More Trump claims he ‘doesn’t want any help’ fighting federal indictment after he struggled to find attorneys willing to represent him Trump calls on Congress to help him wriggle out of federal charges Fox News’s Bret Baier hits back at Trump conspiracy theorist after ex-president appears to incriminate himself in interview New recordings of Trump revealed in classified papers investigation, documents show ‘I’m very proud of my son’: Joe Biden defends son Hunter Biden after deal with DoJ to plead guilty to federal charges Democrats downplay Hunter Biden's plea deal, while Republicans see opportunity to deflect from Trump

A UK-based tourist accused of carving his and his girlfriend’s names into a wall of the Colosseum in Rome could face trial and up to five years in prison. Ivan Dimitrov, 27, who is from Bulgaria but lives with his girlfriend in Bristol, is accused of marking “Ivan + Hayley 23” with a key into a wall of the historic building. Footage of the incident was uploaded to YouTube by Californian tourist Ryan Lutz. The video, titled “A*****e tourist carves name in Colosseum in Rome 6-23-23”, has received over 300,000 views. Italian police officer Major Roberto Martina explained that he had since spoken to the man after he was tracked down in Bulgaria during his European holiday. “We explained that he could be jailed for between two and five years and be fined up to 15,000 euro,” Major Martina told the Mail Online. “He [Mr Dimitrov] told us he was very upset by what he had done, and he kept apologising for it. I think he was worried about the consequences of any trial.” A report of the investigation will be sent to Mr Dimitrov’s home address in the UK before any potential trial proceeds, the website reported. “We didn’t ask him why he did it, that will be for the judge to hear, we just told him that he was a suspect and part of the investigation,” Major Martina added. Fitness trainer Mr Dimitrov and his girlfriend were said to be holidaying in Rome on a three-week European tour when the incident took place. The Italian culture minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, said the act “offended those around the world who appreciate the value of archaeology, monuments and history”, and thanked the police for identifying the alleged suspect. The minister said the government was considering a law that would impose stringent punishment on those found guilty of defacing or damaging the country’s historical and cultural heritage sites. Read More Tourist who carved name into Rome’s Colosseum ‘is British fitness trainer’ Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg could have cage fight in Roman Colosseum Britons warned to ‘avoid’ violence hotspots as riots and looting shake France

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