Jan 5, 2026Confirmed
Suspected AI-made image of a school fire led Johannesburg emergency services to investigate; no fire occurred
AI loose in the worldMisinformationDERIVED
Approved by person, Oct 11, 2026. How entries are approved
A purportedly AI-generated image showing Orlando West High School in Soweto on fire circulated and was allegedly sent to emergency services. Johannesburg EMS reportedly visited the school and confirmed there was no fire. Officials said the false report caused public alarm and diverted emergency resources.
What this means for youA fake image made with AI can send emergency crews to a place where nothing is wrong. Before sharing or reporting a dramatic picture, check whether trusted local sources confirm it.
Sources
- AI Incident Databasehttps://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1605
Data from the AI Incident Database (incidentdatabase.ai), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). McGregor, S. (2021) Preventing Repeated Real World AI Failures by Cataloging Incidents: The AI Incident Database. IAAI-21.
Source data license: CC BY-SA 4.0 (database). Report contents keep their own rights; reports.text, submissions, images and videos are excluded from the data license.
Covered by snapshot 45
da93f03b406f409940d0a6ef47b526607f82ebf457d98f69299b88aceede576a
This entry is record number 2304. It has not been edited since it was approved; the hash above would not match if it had. How to verify