00:00Verifying Images of Mount Etna's Eruption
00:03Europe's largest and most active volcano, Mount Etna, which is located on the east coast
00:12of the island of Sicily, erupted on the 2nd of June.
00:16The major incident caused the volcano to spew ash, gas and rock at a level of intensity
00:22which has not been recorded since February 2021.
00:26Mount Etna frequently erupts and is marked the 14th episode since March.
00:31However its outbursts rarely cause significant damage or injuries.
00:36This latest incident may have been well documented but online users have been calling into question
00:41how real footage like this, which shows hikers fleeing from the volcano, really is.
00:47Some have claimed the video was generated of artificial intelligence.
00:50Although AI videos claiming to show Mount Etna have been shared online, these images are
00:56authentic and have been shared widely by reputable media organisations.
01:01Local authorities issued warnings on the morning of the 2nd of June stating that the volcano
01:06had increased its activity levels, but some hikers still chose to venture onto Mount Etna.
01:12As AI becomes more and more sophisticated, its ability to produce content which is indissociable
01:17from real-life images increases too.
01:20This leads online users to be suspicious of extraordinary yet authentic footage.
01:26Other viral images of a white mushroom cloud emerged after Mount Etna's latest eruption and
01:31they have been circulating online.
01:33However, by conducting a reverse image search, Euroverify found photos taken just metres away
01:38from the same spot, which date back to as early as 2015.
01:43Such images have featured in multiple academic reports, which confirm the photo is from the
01:494th of December 2015 and therefore has nothing to do with the latest eruption.
01:54For more fact checks and debunking, head to our website, euronews.com.
