Debunking Venezuelan Celebration Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Nicolás Maduro.
AI-generated graphics claiming to show Venezuela's president in custody following his capture by the US have garnered tens of millions of impressions online.
How Fake Pictures of the President Appeared Within Hours
The first inauthentic AI image apparently displaying him led off a plane circulated shortly after. The picture was absent from any official US channels; rather, it was posted on the platform X by an account describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
We’ve checked an AI-watermark detector, determining the image was created or altered with generative AI.
Further synthetic visuals began to spread in the subsequent hours, seemingly depicting different views of the leader in custody. Visible watermarks on these images reveal they originated from an Instagram profile named ultravfx.
SynthID confirms these additional images were likewise generated or edited generative models.
Authentic Image Posted but Fabrications Continued
The former US president posted the genuine photograph of Maduro in handcuffs aboard the US Navy ship on that morning. But even after this confirmation was published, AI-generated pictures kept circulating but were modified to incorporate the gray sweatsuit worn by Maduro.
Digital forensics show the new fake images were initially shared on TikTok by a digital art account. Once again, the AI-watermark detector confirms these subsequent pictures were created or altered generative artificial intelligence.
Main Takeaways:
- Synthetic media spread rapidly after the announcement of the president's apprehension.
- The initial fabricated picture appeared within hours on platform X.
- Detection software like Google’s SynthID were used to identify the images as AI-generated.
- Fabrications continued to circulate and evolve even after the release of authentic photographs.
- The source of many fakes was linked to social media accounts focused on graphic design.
