Unmasking Venezuelan Celebration Videos and AI Images of Maduro.
AI-generated images claiming to show Nicolás Maduro detained after his capture by the US have gained tens of millions of impressions across the internet.
The Way Fake Pictures of the President Surfaced Rapidly
The first fake synthetic picture apparently showing him led off a plane circulated shortly after. The picture was absent from any official government accounts; it was instead uploaded on X by an profile purporting to be an “AI video art enthusiast”.
Verification involved an AI-watermark detector, confirming the picture was created or altered with AI tools.
Additional AI-generated visuals were disseminated in the following hours, seemingly depicting different views of Maduro in custody. Discernible logos on these pictures reveal they originated from an Instagram account called ultravfx.
The detection tool indicates these additional pictures were similarly produced using AI technology.
Authentic Image Released but Fakes Continued
Donald Trump shared the initial authentic image of Nicolás Maduro restrained aboard the US Navy ship on Saturday morning. But even after the authentic image was released, AI-generated pictures continued to spread but were modified to show the grey athletic wear seen on Maduro.
Reverse image searches indicate these updated fakes were originally uploaded on the video platform by a digital art account. Again, analysis confirms these further images were produced with AI tools.
Key Points:
- Synthetic media spread rapidly following the announcement of Maduro's capture.
- The first fake image appeared very quickly on social media.
- Detection software like Google’s SynthID were used to verify the images as AI-generated.
- Fake images continued to circulate and be updated even after the publication of real photographs.
- The source of several fakes was linked to social media accounts dedicated to AI art.
