Unmasking Venezuela Celebration Footage and AI Images of Nicolás Maduro.
AI-generated pictures purporting to show Nicolás Maduro under arrest after his capture by the American authorities have garnered many millions of views online.
The Way Fake Pictures of the President Surfaced Soon After
The first inauthentic synthetic picture seemingly displaying him taken off a aircraft emerged a brief time later. The graphic was not shared any verified government accounts; it was instead posted on X by an profile purporting to be an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
Verification involved an AI-watermark detector, confirming the image was generated or edited with generative AI.
Further AI-generated visuals were disseminated in the ensuing hours, appearing to show different views of the leader in custody. Discernible identifying marks on the graphics indicate they came from an Instagram profile named ultravfx.
AI analysis confirms the further pictures were similarly created or altered generative models.
Real Photo Released but Fabrications Continued
The former US president shared the first real photo of Nicolás Maduro in handcuffs aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. But even after this real photo was released, AI-generated pictures persisted online but were updated to show the grey athletic wear seen on Maduro.
Reverse image searches indicate the new fake images were initially shared on TikTok by a graphic design account. Again, analysis found the new graphics were generated or edited AI tools.
Key Points:
- Deepfakes gained traction after the announcement of the president's apprehension.
- The first fake image was shared on the same day on platform X.
- Detection software like Google’s SynthID helped to confirm the pictures as AI-generated.
- Fake images persisted to circulate and be updated even after the release of real images.
- The source of many fabricated images was traced to social media profiles dedicated to AI art.
