The overwhelming virality of the AI-generated “All Eyes on Rafah” Instagram template, which has been shared 47 million times, has instantly created a boom in AI-generated images about Israel’s attack on Rafah. These AI images are now repeatedly going viral on both Instagram and Facebook, while real images and videos of death, suffering, and the situation on the ground in Gaza are regularly hidden behind social media content filters.
It is possible to debate the pros and cons of sharing the original “All Eyes on Rafah” image, which was made by a Malaysian Instagram user and went massively viral worldwide over the last few days, and many news outlets already have. The user’s own Instagram links to a charity raising funds for Palestinian aid, and has a mix of real images and video and highly shareable AI-generated posters similar to the “All Eyes on Rafah” image. Even assuming the best intentions of the original poster, the success of this image has led to the creation of hundreds of copycat AI generated images made by other accounts trying to go viral, to the point where if you search for “All Eyes on Rafah” on either Facebook or Instagram, the majority of content is AI-generated.
Art has always been part of protest, and some of the AI images being created right now are seemingly not intended to deceive people. But many of the images are clearly being made and posted by accounts for the sole purpose of trying to go viral, and many are simply AI-generated images and video depicting people and places that do not actually exist.