Overview
- Google added the Nano Banana 2 image generator to Google Earth on July 30 and removed it the next day after users produced problematic images that appeared to violate policy.
- The tool let anyone type a text prompt to create photorealistic images anchored to Google Earth’s satellite, aerial and 3D views, using Nano Banana 2 as the model.
- Journalists and open-source researchers, including BBC Verify and Henk van Ess, produced and shared fake scenes such as collapsed monuments, bomb damage and refugee camps to show how the tool could be misused.
- Google said generated images were stamped with a SynthID watermark and were not shown in the main Earth experience, but critics showed that screenshots, re-encodes and prompt tweaks can remove or obscure those protections.
- Google has no timeline to restore the feature and says it will add stronger guardrails, while experts warn the episode could weaken verification workflows and make harmful forgeries more persuasive.