Unmasking Venezuela Celebration Footage and AI Images of Nicolás Maduro.
AI-generated images claiming to portray Nicolás Maduro under arrest following his capture by the United States have garnered countless of impressions across the internet.
How Fake Pictures of Maduro Appeared Soon After
Initial fake AI image seemingly displaying him led off a aircraft surfaced within hours. This image was unpublished by any authoritative government accounts; it was instead published on X by an account purporting to be an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
We’ve checked an AI-watermark detector, confirming the picture was generated or edited with AI tools.
Additional synthetic visuals were disseminated in the following hours, purporting to present additional perspectives of Maduro in custody. Visible watermarks on these pictures reveal they were posted by an Instagram account called ultravfx.
SynthID says the further pictures were similarly created or altered Google AI.
Real Photo Posted but Fabrications Continued
The former US president posted the genuine photograph of Nicolás Maduro in handcuffs aboard the US Navy ship on Saturday morning. But even after the authentic image was released, AI-generated images kept circulating but were updated to include the grey tracksuit seen on Maduro.
Reverse image searches indicate these altered fabrications were originally uploaded on the video platform by a graphic design account. Again, the AI-watermark detector found these further images were created or altered Google AI.
Important Facts:
- Deepfakes spread rapidly following the announcement of Maduro's capture.
- The first fake image was shared on the same day on social media.
- Detection software like Google’s SynthID helped to identify the pictures as AI-generated.
- Fabrications continued to circulate and evolve even after the release of real photographs.
- The source of many fabricated images was linked to social media profiles dedicated to graphic design.
