Exposing Venezuelan Victory Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Maduro.
Synthetic images purporting to portray Nicolás Maduro under arrest after his apprehension by the United States have gained countless of impressions online.
The Way AI Images of Maduro Surfaced Soon After
Initial inauthentic synthetic picture seemingly displaying him taken off a plane surfaced within hours. The graphic was absent from any verified US channels; rather, it was posted on the platform X by an profile describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
Verification involved Google’s SynthID, which found the image was generated or edited with AI tools.
Additional AI-generated images began to spread in the subsequent hours, appearing to show different views of Maduro in custody. Visible watermarks on the graphics show they were posted by an Instagram account called ultravfx.
SynthID confirms all of these pictures were likewise created or altered Google AI.
Real Photo Posted but Fabrications Continued
The former US president shared the genuine photograph of Maduro in handcuffs aboard the US Navy ship on Saturday morning. However, despite the authentic image was made public, AI-generated images continued to spread but were updated to show the gray sweatsuit seen on Maduro.
Reverse image searches show these altered fabrications were originally uploaded on TikTok by a graphic design account. Once again, analysis says these further images were produced with AI tools.
Key Points:
- Deepfakes circulated quickly following the announcement of the president's apprehension.
- The first fake image was shared on the same day on platform X.
- Tools like AI-watermark detectors were used to verify the images as inauthentic.
- Fabrications continued to circulate and be updated even after the release of authentic photographs.
- The source of many fakes was linked to specific online accounts focused on graphic design.