Google has taken down the Nano Banana AI tool, which generates AI images and edits from Google Earth, just a day after launch due to problematic generations. The company launched the tool on July 30 and pulled it back on July 31 after users shared AI-generated images of real places that had been modified to look unlike reality, raising concerns about misinformation.
It also happened to break company policy.
Google Earth usually serves as a reliable reference for satellite, aerial, and 3D views of the world. The new tool allowed people to enter prompts and create photorealistic images based on real locations on Earth. And we all know how the human brain works; users quickly generated misleading scenes like a collapsed Eiffel Tower, a sinkhole swallowing the Great Pyramid of Giza, Russian tanks in Kyiv, a fake nuclear facility in Iran, a refugee camp near the US-Mexico border, and more. And the worst part is these looked authentic enough to confuse many into believing that these were real – even with AI watermarking.
There was also an explosion in Paris, flood scenes in Bangladesh, a bomb crater in Russia, and a fictional hospital in Gaza beside a crater. Reuters also reported that the tool let people create fake scenarios on top of real imagery of monuments and landmarks.
Google said it takes misinformation seriously and that it removed the tool after seeing generated images. The company also said each image carried a SynthID watermark and did not appear in the main Google Earth view for other people.
All in all, AI-generated scenes built on real map data could create fake visual evidence and spread confusion. Google has not given a date for a return, and the company has not said whether it will restore the tool in its current form. For now, the Nano Banana image tool remains unavailable in Google Earth.
