Exposing Venezuelan Celebration Footage and AI Images of Nicolás Maduro.
Computer-created graphics purporting to portray Venezuela's president under arrest after his capture by the United States have amassed tens of millions of views on social media.
How AI Images of Maduro Appeared Within Hours
The first fake synthetic picture apparently displaying him led off a plane circulated shortly after. The graphic was unpublished by any verified government accounts; rather, it was posted on X by an account describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.
We’ve checked Google’s SynthID, confirming the picture was produced or modified with generative AI.
Additional synthetic images were disseminated in the ensuing period, seemingly depicting different views of Maduro under guard. Discernible watermarks on the graphics reveal they came from an Instagram profile named ultravfx.
The detection tool confirms all of these pictures were similarly produced using AI technology.
Authentic Image Released but Fabrications Persisted
Donald Trump posted the first real photo of Nicolás Maduro handcuffed aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. Yet following this confirmation was published, synthetic images continued to spread but were updated to include the grey tracksuit worn by Maduro.
Reverse image searches indicate these updated fakes were initially shared on TikTok by a graphic design account. Again, analysis says these further images were produced with AI tools.
Key Points:
- AI-generated content spread rapidly following the events of the president's apprehension.
- The first fake image was shared on the same day on social media.
- Detection software like AI-watermark detectors helped to confirm the images as AI-generated.
- Fabrications continued to circulate and evolve even after the publication of real images.
- The origin of many fakes was linked to specific online accounts focused on graphic design.
