Claim:
A Google Earth image shows dozens of human bodies lying in blood in Kumia, Sudan.
Rating:
Context
The satellite image does appear on Google Earth, but it shows animals gathered around a watering hole, not human bodies. While this specific photo was miscaptioned, verified satellite imagery has documented genuine atrocities elsewhere in Sudan.
In early November 2025, a Google Earth image began circulating on social media, allegedly showing piles of human bodies lying in pools of blood in Kumia, Sudan.
One post (archived) with the photograph, viewed millions of times on X, was captioned: “this is the most disturbing google earth image ever…  SPEAK ON THE GENOCIDE OF SUDAN.”
(X user @undsupermegahot)
The image circulated on numerous social media platforms, such as Reddit, Facebook and Threads, often framed as proof of ongoing atrocities in Sudan’s civil war.
In short, the image was indeed available on Google Earth, but the claim about what it depicted was inaccurate. The satellite photo, which shows an area in Kumia, Sudan, actually portrays livestock gathered around a watering hole — not victims of a massacre.
As such, we rated this claim as miscaptioned.
While this particular photo was misinterpreted, other verified satellite images have documented real atrocities elsewhere in Sudan.
What we know about the image
The image circulating online showed dozens of small, indistinct shapes clustered around a circular patch of ground that appeared darker than the surrounding soil. Below is the location (coordinates 10°57’39″N, 26°24’52″E) visible on Google Maps, with the image dating back to March 2024:
Therefore, the image does not represent new evidence that emerged in 2025. As of this writing, no more recent satellite imagery of the location is available on Google Earth or Google Maps.
However, earlier Google Earth imagery from March 2022 depicts the same site with comparable soil markings and a visible fence, confirming the scene was not newly discovered (see image below).
(Google Earth)
The same area is also visible on Apple Maps, though the platform does not indicate when the image was taken. In that version, the figures are clearly identifiable as animals rather than human bodies.
(Apple Maps)
Below is a comparison between Google Maps and Apple Maps images of the exact same location in Kumia, Sudan:
(Google Maps, Apple Maps)
We were unable to independently confirm what specific animals appear in the satellite image. However, the available evidence strongly indicates that they are livestock gathered near a watering site.
The BBC’s verification team reached the same conclusion after analyzing the image, describing it as “wrongly claiming to be evidence of mass killings in Sudan” and explaining it “actually shows cows or other animals at a watering hole.” The article added that the small objects visible on the ground cast shadows in the same direction as nearby structures, indicating that the figures are standing upright on four legs, not lying flat like human bodies. This shadow pattern, together with the consistent appearance of the site across historical satellite imagery, reinforced the conclusion that the scene depicted animals. Speaking to the BBC, Nathaniel Raymond, director of the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, also confirmed that the image showed cows, not people.
Below is a comparable site in the same area, where the arrangement and shadows clearly show the presence of animals.
Benjamin Strick, OSINT analyst and Director of Investigations at the Centre for Information Resilience, also commented on the claim, underscoring that while genuine satellite evidence of atrocities in Sudan exists, this particular image was being misrepresented: “There are a lot of horrific images, videos and even satellite images you can use to show the horrors that are happening in Sudan. But this is a watering hole and those are animals. Note it was also there in March 2022.”
(X user @BenDoBrown)
Strick, speaking to France24, further explained: “We do not draw our conclusions solely from satellite images,” underscoring the need to be able to recontextualize these images with other factual elements (we translated the quotes using Google Translate):Â
Have there been media reports from local journalists or sources on the ground that have confirmed that an abuse did indeed take place and that satellite images captured it? Have there been video sequences that can corroborate this information? It is important to consider what is revealing in satellite images, and what can be inferred from them. We cannot truly distinguish a genocide from satellite images alone, and therefore a multitude of factors must be taken into account
In a similar tone, Nathan Ruser, analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, wrote: “The scale of murder and massacre by the UAE-backed RSF is unimaginable. But these are cow pens full of cows. The key thing when it comes to interpreting satellite imagery is knowing a ‘normal’ baseline,” adding that “the imagery on Google Maps isn’t close to live.”
Real satellite evidence of atrocities in Sudan
In late October 2025, after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized control of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur in Sudan, international observers warned of widespread abuses against civilians. The United Nations condemned what was described as “atrocities” committed during and after the city’s capture on Oct. 26, 2025, while the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that it was monitoring events for possible “war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
One of the most detailed open source analyses came from the Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) at the Yale School of Public Health, which on Oct. 28, 2025, published a report titled “Day Two of RSF Control: Mass Killings Continue in El-Fasher.” The HRL analysis, based on satellite imagery, identified “evidence of mass killings including door-to-door clearance operations and objects consistent with reported bodies on berm entrapping El-Fasher.”
According to the HRL report, satellite images from late October showed “lines of dark-colored objects consistent with groups of people stretching from the building to the gate of the compound and a group of people near the same gate.” The report further explained, “this activity may be consistent with large groups of people being present on 27 October 2025, subsequently killed, and their bodies visible in satellite imagery on 28 October 2025.”
All in all, independent analyses demonstrate that, unlike the wildly spread Google Earth image from Kumia, real satellite imagery provides evidence of atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region.
For further reading, we have also investigated a Google Maps image supposedly captured a furtive corpse disposal.
