What was claimed
An image shows a fortified Christmas market.
Our verdict
False. The image is AI-generated.
AAP FACTCHECK - An image purporting to show a Christmas market being guarded against Islamic terrorists on social media has been generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
The image contains a partially cropped watermark for Google's AI chatbot, Gemini, as well as several telltale signs it's AI-generated.
It is the most recent example of misinformation about the impact of terrorist attacks on European Christmas markets in the lead-up to the festive season.
A Facebook post features the image of 10 Christmas market stalls, encircled by black four-wheel drive vehicles, which are themselves surrounded by crowd-control barriers.
"Christmas is coming soon, and our cities will be filled with barriers to protect us from Islamic terrorists," the caption reads. "We cannot live in fear."
However, there are several clear signs that the image is AI-generated.
Visible at the bottom right of the image is a partially cropped star, part of the watermark for Google's AI chatbot Gemini, which can generate images from text prompts.
The text on the vehicles and the nearby buildings is also incomprehensible, a telltale sign of AI-generated content, along with several people's faces appearing distorted.
Other fact-checking organisations, such as AFP Fact Check, have previously debunked the same image.
AAP FactCheck debunked claims earlier in November about hundreds of Christmas markets being cancelled in Germany due to security concerns.
Misinformation targeting the security of Christmas markets follows a series of deadly attacks on such events in Germany and France over the past decade.
The fake image has been shared by several social media accounts that have expressed anti-Islamic views.
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