Debunking Venezuelan Victory Videos and AI Images of Nicolás Maduro.
Computer-created pictures purporting to portray Nicolás Maduro detained following his apprehension by the United States have garnered many millions of impressions across the internet.
How Fake Pictures of the President Appeared Within Hours
Initial inauthentic synthetic picture apparently displaying him being escorted off a plane surfaced within hours. The picture was absent from any official government accounts; rather, it was published on X by an profile describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
We’ve checked Google’s SynthID, which found the image was generated or edited with Google AI.
Additional synthetic images were disseminated in the following period, seemingly depicting different views of Maduro detained. Discernible logos on these images indicate they originated from an Instagram profile called ultravfx.
AI analysis confirms these additional pictures were likewise produced using generative models.
Authentic Image Released but Fabrications Persisted
Donald Trump released the first real photo of Nicolás Maduro restrained aboard the US Navy ship on Saturday morning. However, despite this real photo was made public, synthetic pictures continued to spread but were modified to incorporate the gray sweatsuit worn by Maduro.
Online investigation show these updated fakes were initially shared on the video platform by a graphic design account. Once again, analysis confirms the new graphics were produced with AI tools.
Main Takeaways:
- Deepfakes circulated quickly following the news of Maduro's capture.
- The first fake picture appeared within hours on platform X.
- Tools like AI-watermark detectors were used to verify the pictures as AI-generated.
- Fabrications continued to circulate and evolve even after the release of real photographs.
- The origin of many fakes was linked to social media accounts dedicated to AI art.
