Exposing Venezuelan Victory Videos and AI Images of Maduro.
Synthetic pictures purporting to portray Nicolás Maduro under arrest following his apprehension by the American authorities have gained many millions of impressions across the internet.
The Way Fake Pictures of Maduro Surfaced Soon After
The first fabricated synthetic picture seemingly showing him led off a aircraft emerged shortly after. The graphic was unpublished by any official US channels; rather, it was posted on the platform X by an account describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
Our analysis used the SynthID tool, confirming the picture was generated or edited with Google AI.
Further AI-generated pictures started circulating in the ensuing period, purporting to present more angles of the leader in custody. Visible logos on these images reveal they came from an Instagram profile named ultravfx.
AI analysis indicates all of these pictures were also created or altered Google AI.
Authentic Image Released but Fabrications Persisted
Donald Trump shared the initial authentic image of Nicolás Maduro restrained aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. But even after this confirmation was released, synthetic pictures persisted online but were altered to include the grey tracksuit worn by Maduro.
Online investigation reveal these altered fabrications were first posted on TikTok by a digital art account. Once again, analysis says these further images were created or altered Google AI.
Main Takeaways:
- Deepfakes spread rapidly after the events of the president's apprehension.
- The first fake picture was shared within hours on platform X.
- Tools like Google’s SynthID helped to confirm the images as AI-generated.
- Fake images persisted to spread and evolve even after the release of real images.
- The origin of many fakes was traced to social media profiles focused on AI art.
