Exposing Venezuela Victory Videos and AI Images of Maduro.
Computer-created graphics claiming to portray Venezuela's president detained after his capture by the American authorities have gained many millions of views on social media.
The Way Fake Pictures of the President Emerged Soon After
The first inauthentic AI image seemingly displaying him taken off a aircraft surfaced shortly after. This image was absent from any verified American sources; it was instead 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 Google AI.
Additional synthetic visuals started circulating in the following period, appearing to show different views of Maduro in custody. Visible identifying marks on the graphics show they were posted by an Instagram profile called ultravfx.
SynthID confirms the further images were similarly generated or edited Google AI.
Authentic Image Posted but Fabrications Persisted
The former US president released the first real photo of Nicolás Maduro handcuffed aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. However, despite this real photo was published, synthetic images kept circulating but were modified to include the gray sweatsuit seen on Maduro.
Online investigation show these updated fakes were initially shared on TikTok by a graphic design profile. Once again, the AI-watermark detector confirms these subsequent pictures were created or altered Google AI.
Main Takeaways:
- Deepfakes spread rapidly following the news of the president's apprehension.
- The first fake image was shared within hours on platform X.
- Detection software like AI-watermark detectors helped to identify the images as AI-generated.
- Fabrications persisted to circulate and evolve even after the release of real images.
- The source of several fakes was traced to specific online profiles dedicated to graphic design.
