Unmasking Venezuela Victory Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Maduro.
Computer-created graphics purporting to portray Nicolás Maduro under arrest after his apprehension by the American authorities have garnered tens of millions of views online.
The Way Fake Pictures of the President Surfaced Rapidly
Initial inauthentic synthetic picture seemingly displaying him being escorted off a aircraft circulated a brief time later. This image was unpublished by any verified American sources; it was instead posted on the platform X by an account purporting to be an “AI video art enthusiast”.
Our analysis used Google’s SynthID, which found the picture was created or altered with Google AI.
Additional AI-generated pictures started circulating in the ensuing hours, purporting to present different views of Maduro in custody. Visible identifying marks on the graphics indicate they were posted by an Instagram account called ultravfx.
SynthID says the further images were also generated or edited generative models.
Real Photo Released but Fakes Persisted
The former US president posted the initial authentic image of Maduro handcuffed aboard the US Navy ship on that morning. Yet following this real photo was published, AI-generated pictures continued to spread but were updated to incorporate the grey tracksuit worn by Maduro.
Online investigation show these updated fakes were first posted on the video platform by a graphic design account. Similarly, analysis says these further images were generated or edited generative artificial intelligence.
Main Takeaways:
- AI-generated content circulated quickly following the news of Maduro's capture.
- The initial fabricated picture appeared very quickly on platform X.
- Detection software like Google’s SynthID helped to confirm the images as synthetic.
- Fake images persisted to circulate and be updated despite the publication of real photographs.
- The origin of many fakes was traced to social media profiles dedicated to graphic design.
