Exposing Venezuela Victory Footage and AI-Generated Pictures of Maduro.
Computer-created pictures purporting to portray Venezuela's president detained after his capture by the American authorities have gained countless of views across the internet.
The Way AI Images of Maduro Surfaced Soon After
The first fake synthetic picture apparently showing him led off a aircraft emerged shortly after. This image was unpublished by any verified government accounts; it was instead uploaded on X by an profile describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.
Our analysis used the SynthID tool, which found the image was generated or edited with generative AI.
More synthetic visuals began to spread in the following period, seemingly depicting more angles of the leader detained. Visible identifying marks on these images indicate they originated from an Instagram profile named ultravfx.
AI analysis confirms the further images were likewise generated or edited Google AI.
Real Photo Released but Fakes Continued
The former US president posted the genuine photograph of Nicolás Maduro handcuffed aboard the US Navy ship on Saturday morning. However, despite this confirmation was published, AI-generated pictures kept circulating but were updated to incorporate the grey athletic wear worn by Maduro.
Reverse image searches reveal these updated fakes were initially shared on the video platform by a digital art profile. Again, the AI-watermark detector confirms the new graphics were produced with Google AI.
Main Takeaways:
- Deepfakes gained traction following the news of the president's apprehension.
- The first fake picture appeared within hours on social media.
- Tools like Google’s SynthID helped to verify the images as inauthentic.
- Fabrications continued to circulate and evolve even after the release of real images.
- The origin of many fakes was traced to social media accounts dedicated to graphic design.
