As news of a huge explosion at the Pentagon spread like wildfire across the internet, stock markets around the world began to tumble. Investors rushed out of stocks and bonds in a panic, driving the market into a tailspin.
The source of the explosion was a mystery, but a picture of a smoldering crater in the middle of the Pentagon grounds had gone viral on social media. While the photograph had been identified as an AI-generated image, the reality of its effect on the markets was real.
Heads of state scrambled to contain the fallout and address the public’s concerns. Questions of who was responsible and what had caused the explosion were asked in a flurry. The lack of an answer only made the market more unstable.
The stock market crash had a widespread effect on the global economy. Prices of commodities dropped as investors pulled their money out of the markets. Gold and oil prices plummeted and unemployment rates soared. Small businesses began to suffer as the demand for their products dwindled.
Several days later, it was revealed that the picture of the explosion had been an AI-generated image, and the Pentagon had not, in fact, been the victim of a terrorist attack. The stock market began to recover almost immediately after the truth was revealed, and the global economy slowly regained its stability.