Exposing Venezuelan Victory Videos and AI Images of Maduro.
Synthetic images claiming to depict Nicolás Maduro in custody following his apprehension by the US have gained many millions of impressions across the internet.
How AI Images of Maduro Appeared Rapidly
The first fake synthetic picture apparently displaying him led off a aircraft emerged shortly after. The graphic was unpublished by any authoritative US channels; rather, it was uploaded on the platform X by an account describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
We’ve checked Google’s SynthID, which found the image was created or altered with AI tools.
Further synthetic visuals were disseminated in the subsequent period, appearing to show additional perspectives of the leader under guard. Visible logos on the graphics reveal they were posted by an Instagram account named ultravfx.
AI analysis confirms all of these images were similarly created or altered AI technology.
Real Photo Released but Fabrications Continued
Donald Trump released the initial authentic image of Maduro handcuffed aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. However, despite this confirmation was released, synthetic images persisted online but were modified to incorporate the gray sweatsuit seen on Maduro.
Reverse image searches indicate the new fake images were originally uploaded on TikTok by a graphic design account. Again, the AI-watermark detector found these further images were generated or edited generative artificial intelligence.
Important Facts:
- Deepfakes gained traction following the news of Maduro's capture.
- The first fake picture was shared on the same day on platform X.
- Tools like AI-watermark detectors were used to verify the images as synthetic.
- Fake images persisted to spread and evolve despite the publication of authentic images.
- The source of several fabricated images was linked to specific online accounts dedicated to AI art.
