By: Annet Preethi Furtado
March 14 2023
A series of AI-generated images created by a fashion brand has been used to spread the false claim that a Satanic hotel is opening in Plano, Texas.
Context
Several posts circulating on Facebook in March 2023 claimed that a Satanic hotel is set to open in Plano, Texas, on June 6 at 6 p.m. representing the number 666, a widely recognized symbol associated with the devil. The posts included a video that show images of a hotel filled with satanic imagery, including statues and paintings of Lucifer, a swimming pool with a burning cross, and pentagrams on the floor. Similar posts and claims were widely shared on Twitter and TikTok.
However, the photographs of the purported satanic hotel were generated by artificial intelligence (AI) and have been misinterpreted as real.
In Fact
No credible or legitimate outlets have reported the opening of such a hotel. We found that the pictures of the hotel were first posted on the social media pages of an online clothing store, Ink Poisoning Apparel. In February 2023, Ink Poisoning Apparel posted the photos on Facebook and Instagram with the caption, "We offer the worst accommodations imaginable, from cramped rooms, broken furniture, and an over heated pool,'' adding that "the wicked are subjected to eternal suffering and torment at the Hotel Hell." However, the posts noted that the images were AI-generated art made by the company.
Logically reached out to Ink Poisoning Apparel, who responded saying that photos of the alleged demonic hotel were "all fake," adding, "That's not something that is actually opening."
Plano Police also debunked this; in response to a question from a user on Twitter, they stated that the claim was false and that the images were AI-generated.
The Verdict
The pictures featured in the viral posts were generated by AI and have been shared to promote false claims of a Satanic hotel in Plano, Texas. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.