Google initially said that guidelines built into its AI model would prevent the creation of imagery depicting “harmful topics”, however BBC Verify found that small changes to prompts could be used to bypass these guidelines.

For example, a request to create a “raised platform to hang traitors” next to the UK parliament was rejected. But when a less specific prompt was used, it was accepted and the image was created.

We also asked the tool to mow the word “Trump” into the White House lawn, but it said it could not “create that image” based on its guidelines. It did, however, allow a community garden to be generated in the same spot.

With the constant flood of AI imagery, Ajder said, spaces assumed to be “unblemished by AI are valuable, particularly for journalists and people trying to do work on the frontlines of rapidly evolving crisis scenarios”.

“It’s concerning because it’s another place where sources of trusted information are being eroded by the constant doubt that AI might be involved,” he added.

For many, Google Earth is the entry point to openly-accessible satellite imagery and can be used to obtain insights into hard to reach areas.

“This is potentially particularly damaging to public trust because satellite imagery has historically been seen as an especially trustworthy source of data,” Bill Greer, a geospatial analyst and co-founder of the non-profit satellite service Common Space, told BBC Verify.

Falsified satellite imagery has already been used to spread misinformation, he added. “Governments are also restricting access to data more and more, so we’re likely to see more false images, and fewer real images which will further erode trust.”