Exposing Venezuelan Celebration Footage and AI-Generated Pictures of Maduro.
AI-generated pictures purporting to depict Nicolás Maduro in custody after his capture by the American authorities have amassed tens of millions of views across the internet.
How Fake Pictures of Maduro Surfaced Within Hours
The first fake AI image seemingly showing him taken off a aircraft circulated shortly after. The picture was absent from any official government accounts; it was instead published on X by an profile describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.
Our analysis used Google’s SynthID, which found the image was generated or edited with AI tools.
Further AI-generated pictures started circulating in the following period, purporting to present additional perspectives of the leader detained. Discernible watermarks on the graphics show they came from an Instagram profile named ultravfx.
The detection tool confirms the further pictures were similarly created or altered AI technology.
Authentic Image Released but Fakes Persisted
The former US president released the genuine photograph of Maduro in handcuffs aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. But even after this confirmation was made public, synthetic pictures kept circulating but were modified to incorporate the grey tracksuit worn by Maduro.
Reverse image searches reveal the new fake images were first posted on the video platform by a digital art account. Once again, SynthID confirms these subsequent pictures were created or altered Google AI.
Important Facts:
- Synthetic media circulated quickly following the announcement of the president's apprehension.
- The initial fabricated picture appeared on the same day on platform X.
- Detection software like Google’s SynthID helped to identify the images as synthetic.
- Fake images persisted to spread and be updated even after the release of real photographs.
- The source of several fakes was linked to social media accounts focused on AI art.
