Image of mortar shells does not show bombs unearthed in South Korean capital
- Published on November 30, 2023 at 09:45
- 3 min read
- By Hailey JO, AFP South Korea
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The AI-generated image was first shared by South Korean media outlet Wikitree, which has more than 6.3 million Facebook followers.
The post links to an article on Wikitree's website that says the image was created using artificial intelligence.
However, the Facebook post -- which was captioned "Gotta be careful" in Korean -- does not clarify that the image was fabricated, and led many users to believe it was a real photo.
The Facebook post was shared on November 14, when mortar shells were discovered by construction workers in the Seongdong district of the capital.
The shells are believed to have been dropped during the 1950-53 Korean War, an army official told AFP on November 27.
There was no risk of detonation as the fuses had been damaged, he said.
Police and the military successfully disposed of the ordnance.
Seventy years after the war ended, bombs from the conflict are still frequently found in South Korea (archived link).
More than 96,000 mostly war-era explosives -- including aerial bombs, naval shells and grenades -- were located in South Korea in 2022 alone, according to a report from the office of lawmaker Ki Dong-min obtained by AFP.
'Clickbait'
Wikitree makes full disclosure about the use of AI in the article on their website.
A photo caption says: "This image is created with the AI image-creation platform 'MS Bing Image Creator'."
But other platforms and social media posts sharing the image did not feature this photo caption or mention artificial intelligence.
The image was widely shared on South Korean platforms Naver Blog, Cashfeed as well as on Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter.
Online forum Ruliweb shared it with a caption saying it was generated using an AI platform, but users had to click to view the content of the post to learn the image was not genuine.
"I thought the image showed the real bombs," reads one Korean-language comment by a user on Ruliweb.
Another user on Facebook said: "It's like clickbait using a sensational AI-generated image."
The Wikitree story cites the information to South Korean financial media outlet Money Today, but Money Today's article does not feature the AI-generated image (archived link).
An army official told AFP the ordnance in the image did not resemble the explosives found, which are 60mm calibre shells.
The real mortar shells are only about the length of an adult hand, he said.
While the South Korean police and the army did not release any photos of the explosives, the photo below -- which is not related to the case -- shows a 60mm calibre shell for comparison.
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