{"id":8225,"date":"2026-01-07T00:19:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T00:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/8225\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T00:19:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T00:19:19","slug":"dangerous-ai-image-prank-about-orlando-west-high-school-on-fire-causes-panic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/8225\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Dangerous AI image prank&#8217; about Orlando West High School on fire causes panic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A dangerous prank using an artificial intelligence (AI) generated image of Orlando West High School has raised concerns about AI platforms spreading misinformation and panic.<\/p>\n<p>The City of Johannesburg Emergency Services said it has noted with serious concern the circulation of the AI-generated image falsely depicting Orlando West High School in Soweto as being on fire.<\/p>\n<p>Investigations<\/p>\n<p>Johannesburg Emergency Services spokesperson Kagiso Phasha, following the circulation of the image and related reports, immediately launched an investigation to verify its authenticity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEMS can confirm that Orlando West High School was not on fire, and no fire incident was reported to or recorded by the City\u2019s Command and Control Centre.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"959\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4276390\" style=\"width:573px;height:auto\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Orlando-West-High-School.jpeg\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"959\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Orlando-West-High-School.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4276390\" style=\"width:573px;height:auto\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>ALSO READ:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/lifestyle\/technology\/south-africa-track-regulate-artificial-intelligence-ai\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">South Africa on track to regulate artificial intelligence<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Fake image<\/p>\n<p>Phasha said the incident has been regarded as a \u201cdangerous and irresponsible prank.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe creation and sharing of false emergency-related content, including AI-generated images, causes unnecessary panic, spreads misinformation, and results in the waste of critical emergency resources that are intended to respond to genuine life-threatening emergencies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services strongly condemns such actions and warns that the spreading of false information may have serious consequences, including possible legal implications,\u201d Kagiso Phasha said.<\/p>\n<p>Warning<\/p>\n<p>Phasha urged residents to act responsibly and refrain from sharing unverified or manipulated content.<\/p>\n<p>During an emergency, residents must contact the City\u2019s Command and Control Centre on 011\u00a0375 5911.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe City remains committed to protecting communities and ensuring that emergency resources are available where they are genuinely needed,\u201d Phasha said.<\/p>\n<p>AI<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/lifestyle\/technology\/hidden-dangers-advanced-ai-assistants\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AI-generated misinformation and deepfakes are major concerns<\/a>, particularly in politics and media. <\/p>\n<p>Examples include AI-generated fake celebrity interviews, such as the one involving Michael Schumacher\u2019s family, and the potential for AI to influence elections through robocalls or propaganda.<\/p>\n<p>Cybercriminals are also increasingly using AI to \u201chack\u201d human emotions. They use deepfake videos and AI-generated content to create fake fundraisers or charities, exploiting compassion and love rather than just fear.<\/p>\n<p>ALSO READ: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/news\/eleven-classrooms-destoyed-fire-guts-riverlea-high-school\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Eleven classrooms destroyed after fire guts Riverlea High School<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A dangerous prank using an artificial intelligence (AI) generated image of Orlando West High School has raised concerns&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[5732,1288,5733,4814,5734,131,5735],"class_list":{"0":"post-8225","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-south-africa","8":"tag-artificial-intelligence-ai","9":"tag-city-of-johannesburg-coj","10":"tag-emergency-services","11":"tag-fire","12":"tag-high-school","13":"tag-south-africa","14":"tag-soweto"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}