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.
00:25Mount Etna frequently erupts and is marked the 14th episode since March.
00:30However, its outbursts rarely cause significant damage or injuries.
00:35This 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.
00:46Some have claimed the video was generated of artificial intelligence.
00:50Although AI videos claiming to show Mount Etna have been shared online,
00:54these images are authentic and have been shared widely by reputable media organisations.
01:00Local 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.
01:11As AI becomes more and more sophisticated, its ability to produce content which is indissociable
01:17from real-life images increases too.
01:19This leads online users to be suspicious of extraordinary yet authentic footage.
01:25Other viral images of a white mushroom cloud emerged after Mount Etna's latest eruption,
01:30and they have been circulating online.
01:33However, by conducting a reverse image search,
01:36Euroverify found photos taken just metres away from 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 4th December 2015,
01:50and therefore has nothing to do with the latest eruption.
01:54For more fact checks and debunking, head to our website, euronews.com.
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