Exposing Venezuelan Victory Footage and AI-Generated Pictures of Maduro.
AI-generated images purporting to show Venezuela's president under arrest following his capture by the United States have gained tens of millions of impressions across the internet.
The Way Fake Pictures of Maduro Surfaced Soon After
The first inauthentic synthetic picture apparently displaying him taken off a plane surfaced shortly after. The graphic was unpublished by any verified US channels; rather, it was published on the platform X by an account purporting to be an “AI video art enthusiast”.
Our analysis used Google’s SynthID, confirming the image was produced or modified with Google AI.
Additional synthetic visuals started circulating in the subsequent period, purporting to present different views of Maduro detained. Visible identifying marks on the graphics show they originated from an Instagram account named ultravfx.
The detection tool indicates the further pictures were similarly produced using Google AI.
Authentic Image Posted but Fabrications Continued
The former US president shared the genuine photograph of Nicolás Maduro restrained aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. Yet following this confirmation was made public, AI-generated images continued to spread but were altered to include the grey tracksuit worn by Maduro.
Digital forensics show the new fake images were initially shared on the video platform by a graphic design profile. Again, SynthID confirms these subsequent pictures were generated or edited AI tools.
Key Points:
- Deepfakes spread rapidly after the news of Maduro's capture.
- The initial fabricated image was shared on the same day on social media.
- Tools like Google’s SynthID helped to identify the images as AI-generated.
- Fake images continued to spread and be updated even after the publication of real photographs.
- The origin of many fakes was traced to social media profiles focused on graphic design.
