Flat Earthers Use AI-Generated Fakes to Discredit Artemis II Mission

Supporters of the Flat Earth movement are utilizing AI-generated videos to assert that NASA fabricated visuals from the Artemis II mission. This trend mirrors a long-standing narrative among conspiracy theorists who have claimed that lunar missions have been staged since 1969.

One prominently circulated video depicts astronauts seemingly suspended in front of a green screen, revealing glitches such as distorted text and inconsistencies with limb appearances. Another clip shows an interior view from the spacecraft, raising questions about who is filming the astronauts within the capsule.

Disinformation specialist Tal Hagin highlighted the AI origins of these videos, stating, "Due to several anomalies, I believe this video is actually an AI-spliced video using 2 different images." He pointed out that the first image shows the Artemis II crew while the second presents Earth, which were merged using AI technology.

The growing prevalence of this disinformation is notable, with searches for "Artemis leaks" on X revealing a wide variety of manipulated content, including images of a faux moon and allegations of NASA employing AI to deceive the public. Similar claims are also making rounds on platforms like Facebook, where Flat Earth advocates reference these AI-generated materials as proof of deception.

This phenomenon is indicative of a broader issue, as seen in previous instances where scammers deployed deepfake technology for fraudulent purposes, such as swindling individuals in cryptocurrency schemes.