AI-generated image circulates after meteor sighting in Indonesia
- Published on October 21, 2025 at 10:51
- 2 min read
- By AFP Indonesia
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A meteor passed over Indonesia's West Java on October 5, with residents hearing and seeing explosions and lights overhead, but an image of a large, round object that apparently crushed a building circulating on social media is AI-generated. The meteorite fell into the sea, according to a government astronomer.
"A meteorite that fell in Cirebon," reads Indonesian-language sticker text over an image shared on TikTok on October 7, 2025.
It shows a large metal ball lying among rubble between some houses, surrounded by a crowd of people. "Welcome, meteorite in Indonesia," the description reads.
The same image circulated elsewhere on TikTok and on Facebook with similar claims after a meteor was spotted over West Java's Cirebon city on October 5, with residents reporting seeing the fireball streaking across the sky before vanishing into the distance, followed by a loud bang (archived link).
Some people appeared to believe the image was genuine, leaving comments that read: "Meteorite in Cirebon".
"Oh, so that’s what a meteor looks like," wrote another.
But National Research and Innovation Agency astronomer Thomas Djamaluddin told AFP that the meteorite had fallen into the sea, based on "analysis of eyewitness information" and data from Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency.
The loud boom was heard as the meteor entered Earth's lower atmosphere, he said.
"Nothing fell on land," Thomas told AFP via WhatsApp on October 21, 2025.
A reverse image search on Google found the image was published in a now-deleted Facebook post on October 6, by an account that repeatedly posts AI-generated pictures. The account's bio states the owner identifies herself as "Miss AI" (archived link).
The owner of the account had left a comment clarifying the post was intended for entertainment purposes.
The circulating image also features people with distorted features -- one of the visual inconsistencies commonly found in AI-generated content.
Thomas also said if a big meteorite were to fall into a housing complex, there would be a massive crater and a strong earthquake in the area.
"This image is clearly fabricated," he added.
A reverse image search on Google also revealed that it was labelled as "Made with Google AI".
Google’s SynthID Detector -- a tool launched in May 2025 to identify AI-generated content -- detected digital watermarks indicating the image was created with Google’s generative model (archived link).
AFP has debunked other claims sharing AI-generated content.
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