Exposing Venezuelan Celebration Footage and AI Images of Maduro.
AI-generated pictures purporting to depict Venezuela's president in custody following his apprehension by the US have garnered tens of millions of views online.
How Fake Pictures of Maduro Appeared Soon After
The first fabricated synthetic picture apparently displaying him taken off a plane emerged within hours. The picture was absent from any official American sources; it was instead posted on the platform X by an profile describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.
Verification involved Google’s SynthID, which found the picture was created or altered with generative AI.
Additional AI-generated pictures were disseminated in the ensuing hours, seemingly depicting different views of Maduro detained. Visible logos on these images reveal they came from an Instagram account named ultravfx.
SynthID says all of these images were similarly produced using generative models.
Real Photo Posted but Fakes Persisted
Donald Trump posted the initial authentic image of Maduro restrained aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. Yet following this real photo was made public, synthetic pictures kept circulating but were altered to include the grey tracksuit seen on Maduro.
Digital forensics indicate these altered fabrications were first posted on TikTok by a graphic design account. Similarly, analysis found the new graphics were created or altered AI tools.
Main Takeaways:
- AI-generated content circulated quickly following the events of Maduro's capture.
- The first fake picture was shared very quickly on platform X.
- Detection software like AI-watermark detectors helped to verify the pictures as inauthentic.
- Fabrications persisted to circulate and evolve despite the release of authentic images.
- The origin of many fakes was traced to specific online profiles focused on AI art.
