“Photo shows Egyptian pyramids being constructed in 2549 BC”

An image that is circulating as an online joke has found a new life in the misinformation world.

The image shows figures wearing loin cloths and holding up several large cubic stones. “Pyramids in Egypt, photo taken during the construction in 2549 BC,” a June 12 post claimed. “This is proof it wasn’t the aliens.” Similar posts were shared on Facebook, TikTok and X.

The Facebook post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Threads, and Instagram.)

There is one simple problem with this claim: 2549 B.C. was 4,573 years ago and photography technology was not developed until about 200 years ago. French inventor Joseph Nicephore Niepce began experimenting with making photos in 1816, and the earliest known surviving photo was taken in 1827 (196 years ago). That photo is on display at a museum at the University of Texas at Austin.

A reverse image search did not yield credible results about the source of the image. Some people speculated in some of the photo posts’ comments that it was generated using artificial intelligence.

We rate the claim that this image shows Egyptian pyramids being constructed Pants on Fire!