Debunking Venezuela Victory Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Maduro.
AI-generated pictures purporting to show Venezuela's president detained after his apprehension by the American authorities have garnered many millions of impressions across the internet.
The Way Fake Pictures of the President Surfaced Rapidly
Initial inauthentic AI image apparently displaying him led off a aircraft circulated within hours. This image was absent from any official US channels; rather, it was posted on the platform X by an account describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.
We’ve checked Google’s SynthID, confirming the image was created or altered with generative AI.
Further synthetic images were disseminated in the following hours, purporting to present different views of the leader detained. Discernible watermarks on these images reveal they were posted by an Instagram account named ultravfx.
AI analysis confirms these additional images were likewise created or altered Google AI.
Real Photo Posted but Fakes Continued
Donald Trump shared the first real photo of Nicolás Maduro restrained aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. But even after the authentic image was published, synthetic pictures persisted online but were updated to include the grey tracksuit worn by Maduro.
Reverse image searches reveal the new fake images were initially shared on the video platform by a digital art profile. Again, analysis confirms these further images were created or altered generative artificial intelligence.
Important Facts:
- AI-generated content gained traction after the announcement of the president's apprehension.
- The first fake image appeared within hours on social media.
- Tools like AI-watermark detectors helped to identify the images as AI-generated.
- Fabrications persisted to circulate and be updated even after the release of real photographs.
- The source of several fakes was linked to social media accounts focused on graphic design.
