“How much of the moon landing do I think is fake?” The provocative question is the caption of a montage of four images that show supposed film scenes. They all show cameras, artificial lights and what appear to be technicians and actors, dressed in astronaut suits, in a setting that aims to imitate that of the lunar surface.
oh mail It went viral, initially on the social network
Since the mid-1970s, conspiracy theories have emerged about the (non)arrival of humans on the Moon. What is new these days is the ease with which images are generated through Artificial Intelligence (AI), as well as the existence of social networks. Networks where content of this type proliferates easily.
And that is exactly the case with this post. Images, when uploaded to AI detection programs, are identified as “very likely” to have been artificially generated. A closer look also allows us to identify signs of this: the ill-defined faces of the supposed actors and technicians, as well as the respective lack of limbs of the human body.
As Reuters, which also conducted this fact check, notes, the images were shared in 2023 on the official subreddit of AI image generator Midjourney and were identified as manipulated content and not real photographs.
The conspiracy theory in question is based on the belief that some or all elements of the Apollo program and the moon landings associated with it were hoaxes organized by NASA. In other words, it is argued that evidence, including photographs, radio and television broadcasts, and lunar rock samples, was fabricated to deceive the world’s population that the feat had been accomplished.
Since the late 2000s, the Apollo 11 landing site has been publicized by being photographed by the camera of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft, decades after the first landing. “The descent phase of Apollo 11, which the astronauts left on the lunar surface, is visible, as well as the footprints left by the astronauts’ footprints,” reads the US space agency’s website.
Conclusion
It is false that a montage of four images circulating on social networks shows that humanity has not reached the Moon. This is content generated by Artificial Intelligence with the aim of supporting this conspiracy theory based on the belief in a staging of the historical feat.
Thus, according to the Observer classification system, this content is:
MISTAKEN
In Facebook’s rating system, this content is:
FAKE: Major content claims are factually inaccurate. Generally, this option corresponds to “false” or “mostly false” ratings on fact-checking websites.
NOTE: This content was curated by Observador as part of a fact-checking partnership with Facebook.
Source: Observadora
