Debunking Venezuelan Celebration Videos and AI Images of Nicolás Maduro.
Computer-created images purporting to portray Venezuela's president detained following his apprehension by the US have garnered many millions of views on social media.
How Fake Pictures of Maduro Surfaced Within Hours
The first fake synthetic picture apparently showing him led off a aircraft circulated a brief time later. The graphic was not shared any authoritative US channels; rather, it was published on the platform X by an profile describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.
We’ve checked Google’s SynthID, which found the picture was produced or modified with generative AI.
Additional AI-generated images were disseminated in the following period, purporting to present more angles of Maduro detained. Discernible identifying marks on these pictures show they came from an Instagram account named ultravfx.
SynthID says the further images were similarly generated or edited generative models.
Authentic Image Posted but Fakes Continued
Donald Trump posted the genuine photograph of Nicolás Maduro in handcuffs aboard the US Navy ship on Saturday morning. Yet following this confirmation was published, AI-generated pictures persisted online but were modified to incorporate the grey athletic wear seen on Maduro.
Online investigation reveal the new fake images were originally uploaded on TikTok by a digital art account. Again, the AI-watermark detector says the new graphics were generated or edited AI tools.
Important Facts:
- Synthetic media spread rapidly following the news of Maduro's capture.
- The first fake image was shared very quickly on platform X.
- Detection software like Google’s SynthID were used to identify the pictures as synthetic.
- Fabrications continued to spread and evolve even after the publication of authentic images.
- The origin of several fakes was traced to social media accounts focused on graphic design.
