In brief
A recent investigation by the BBC uncovered a troubling trend of AI-generated images of Holocaust victims being posted by spammers on Facebook. These fake images, which attract likes and shares, have left survivors and Holocaust remembrance organizations distressed. Critique of Meta's role in facilitating this phenomenon highlights concerns about misinformation and the ethical use of AI in commemorating historical events.
An international network of spammers are posting AI-generated images of Holocaust victims on Facebook, a BBC investigation into AI slop has found.
Organizations dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust say the images are leaving survivors and families distressed. They have also criticized 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 that is 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.
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 monetization (CM) program, an invite-only system that pays users for high-performing content and views.
In June, the Auschwitz Museum warned accounts like these that 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.
Mr. Sawicki said the tsunami of fake images was undermining the Auschwitz Memorial's mission to raise awareness of the Holocaust.
Meta does not intentionally encourage users to post false stories, including about the Holocaust, but its system rewards posts with high engagement. The BBC has also found AI slop accounts based in India, Vietnam, Thailand, and Nigeria.
To understand why these networks are mass-producing specific types of content, the BBC spoke with a Pakistani man Fazal Rahman, who is enrolled in several social media content monetization schemes and says this work has become his sole source of income.
Facebook has a page transparency feature, which allows users to track the previous names of pages. Using this, the BBC found many pages that had posted Holocaust AI slop that once posed as a range of different entities including official firefighting departments in the US, commercial businesses, and American influencers - all without their consent.
These pages, according to creators' public posts, can also be sold or rented to those looking to break into the content creator market.
The BBC asked Meta about several profiles that had posted Holocaust-themed AI content and also appeared to have engaged in deceptive practices. Several of the profiles and groups were removed including ones originally flagged by the Auschwitz Memorial in June.
A spokesperson for the tech giant said while those fake images did not violate its content policies, it investigated them and found they broke its rules around impersonation or trading of pages.
