An international network of spammers are posting AI-generated images of Holocaust victims on Facebook, a BBC investigation into 'AI slop' has found.
Organisations dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust say the images are leaving survivors and families distressed. They have also criticised Facebook's parent company Meta, saying it allows users on its platform to turn the atrocity into an 'emotional game'. There are only a handful of genuine photos from inside the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War Two.
But in recent months, AI spammers have posted fake images purporting to be from inside the camp, such as a prisoner playing a violin or lovers meeting at the boundaries of fences - attracting tens of thousands of likes and shares.
Here we have somebody making up the stories… for some kind of strange emotional game happening on social media, said Pawel Sawicki, a spokesperson for the Auschwitz Memorial in Poland.
This is not a game. This is a real world, real suffering and real people that we want to and need to commemorate. In June, the Auschwitz Museum warned that many accounts were stealing its posts, processing them through AI models and often warping historical details or fabricating narratives and victims entirely. In a Facebook post, the Museum said these images were a 'dangerous distortion' which 'disrespects victims and harasses their memory'.
The BBC has tracked many of these images to the accounts of a network of Pakistan-based content creators who collaborate closely on how to make money on Facebook. They are gaming Meta's content monetisation program, which pays users for high-performing content and views.
Among the many Facebook posts from Abdul Mughees' account are several AI-generated photos of fictional Holocaust victims and fake stories that include a child hiding under floorboards or a baby being left on train tracks outside a concentration camp.
The amount of AI-generated images being posted has raised concerns among Holocaust survivors and education advocates about the potential distortion of history and the emotional impact these fabrications may have on those who truly suffered. Meta has stated they take misinformation seriously and are investigating the accounts responsible for these violations.
