Anyone can fake a scientific image with AI, tricking even academic journals – and undermining trust in science

Summary

In April 2026, a NASA Artemis II photo of Earth caught public attention, but AI can fabricate similar images in seconds, raising trust issues. The author, a visual science communication researcher, notes that AI-generated images infiltrate science: used for illustrations, synthetic data, editing lab images, and outreach, blurring lines between illustration, enhancement, and fabrication. In 2024, two papers were retracted for AI-generated biologically impossible structures; in April 2026, NEJM retracted a paper due to AI-manipulated clinical image. Publishers are adopting AI-detection tools, but detectors lag behind generators and only recognize trained patterns; these cases may be the tip of the iceberg.