Debunking Venezuelan Celebration Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Nicolás Maduro.
Synthetic pictures purporting to portray Venezuela's president detained following his capture by the United States have amassed many millions of impressions across the internet.
How Fake Pictures of the President Surfaced Soon After
Initial fabricated AI image apparently displaying him taken off a aircraft surfaced shortly after. The graphic was absent from any verified government accounts; rather, it was published on X by an profile describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
Our analysis used Google’s SynthID, confirming the picture was created or altered with Google AI.
More AI-generated visuals began to spread in the following hours, appearing to show more angles of Maduro in custody. Visible logos on these images indicate they came from an Instagram profile called ultravfx.
AI analysis confirms all of these pictures were similarly generated or edited generative models.
Real Photo Posted but Fakes Persisted
Donald Trump shared the initial authentic image of Maduro handcuffed aboard the US Navy ship on that morning. Yet following this confirmation was released, AI-generated images persisted online but were altered to show the grey tracksuit worn by Maduro.
Digital forensics show these altered fabrications were initially shared on the video platform by a digital art account. Again, SynthID confirms the new graphics were created or altered Google AI.
Important Facts:
- AI-generated content spread rapidly following the news of the president's apprehension.
- The initial fabricated image appeared on the same day on platform X.
- Detection software like Google’s SynthID were used to verify the images as AI-generated.
- Fake images persisted to spread and be updated despite the release of real photographs.
- The origin of several fabricated images was traced to social media profiles dedicated to graphic design.