AI-generated image of damaged shopping centre in Japan misleads online
- Published on August 3, 2026 at 11:49
- 2 min read
- By Nyan Tun SHEIN, AFP Thailand
A mall in Japan was gutted in an explosion following a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in July, but an image circulating online that appears to show the damage is fabricated. The visuals does not match with authentic photos of the shopping complex taken by AFP and a detection tool flagged it as made with OpenAI tools.
"After Kumamoto quake, AEON Mall exploded and and gas leak suspected," reads part of the Burmese-language Facebook post published on July 29, 2026.
The post includes an image showing a partially crumbled building with an AEON logo, while fire trucks and rescue workers can be seen below.
Similar claims were shared on Facebook in Burmese posts after a 7.1-magnitude tremor struck Kyushu island in southwestern Japan, toppled buildings and sparked fires that killed at least 36 people (archived link).
The Aeon shopping mall was evacuated after the earthquake but around 50 minutes later the facility was gutted by the massive blast (archived link).
A total of 12 people were pulled from the site, with seven confirmed dead, according to the disaster management office of the Kumamoto region. Rescue operations at the mall concluded on August 1 (archived link).
But the image contains visual inconsistencies and has been flagged as AI-generated.
The circulating image shows the AEON logo against a pink backdrop, but an AFP photograph taken on July 29 showed the shopping centre's full name, "AEON MALL", displayed in pink on a grey facade.
The initials "JSDE" can be seen on the rescue workers' uniforms, but the acronym used by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force is in fact "JGSDF" (archived link).
An analysis of the OpenAI's image verification website found that it was "generated using OpenAI tools" (archived link).
The AI-generated image also does not match Google Maps Street View imagery of Aeon Mall in Kumamoto (archived link).
AFP previously debunked misinformation related to earthquakes here.
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