Debunking Venezuelan Victory Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Nicolás Maduro.

Computer-created graphics purporting to depict Nicolás Maduro detained after his capture by the US have garnered tens of millions of impressions online.

How Fake Pictures of the President Appeared Soon After

Initial inauthentic synthetic picture apparently showing him taken off a aircraft circulated shortly after. The graphic was absent from any official American sources; rather, it was posted on the platform X by an account describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.

Our analysis used Google’s SynthID, confirming the image was produced or modified with Google AI.

Further AI-generated pictures started circulating in the subsequent hours, appearing to show additional perspectives of Maduro under guard. Discernible logos on these images show they were posted by an Instagram account called ultravfx.

SynthID says the further images were also produced using generative models.

Authentic Image Released but Fabrications Persisted

Donald Trump released the genuine photograph of Nicolás Maduro restrained aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. However, despite the authentic image was released, synthetic images kept circulating but were modified to include the grey tracksuit worn by Maduro.

Digital forensics show the new fake images were first posted on TikTok by a digital art profile. Once again, the AI-watermark detector found these subsequent pictures were generated or edited generative artificial intelligence.

Key Points:

• Synthetic media spread rapidly following the events of Maduro's capture.
• The first fake picture appeared very quickly on social media.
• Detection software like Google’s SynthID were used to confirm the pictures as synthetic.
• Fake images persisted to spread and evolve even after the release of real images.
• The source of many fakes was linked to social media profiles dedicated to AI art.