Debunking Venezuela Victory Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Nicolás Maduro.
Synthetic pictures purporting to portray Venezuela's president under arrest after his capture by the US have garnered many millions of views on social media.
How Fake Pictures of Maduro Emerged Soon After
Initial fabricated synthetic picture apparently showing him being escorted off a aircraft emerged a brief time later. This image was not shared any official American sources; it was instead published on X by an profile purporting to be an “AI video art enthusiast”.
Verification involved an AI-watermark detector, which found the picture was produced or modified with generative AI.
More synthetic visuals started circulating in the following hours, purporting to present different views of Maduro in custody. Discernible logos on these pictures indicate they came from an Instagram profile named ultravfx.
SynthID indicates the further images were also created or altered AI technology.
Real Photo Released but Fabrications Persisted
The former US president released the first real photo of Nicolás Maduro in handcuffs aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. However, despite the authentic image was made public, AI-generated images continued to spread but were modified to incorporate the grey tracksuit seen on Maduro.
Reverse image searches show these updated fakes were originally uploaded on the video platform by a graphic design profile. Once again, SynthID confirms these subsequent pictures were generated or edited AI tools.
Main Takeaways:
- Deepfakes circulated quickly following the events of Maduro's capture.
- The first fake picture appeared on the same day on social media.
- Detection software like AI-watermark detectors were used to verify the pictures as synthetic.
- Fake images continued to circulate and be updated even after the release of real images.
- The source of several fabricated images was linked to specific online accounts focused on graphic design.
