Unmasking Venezuelan Victory Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Maduro.
Computer-created images claiming to portray Venezuela's president under arrest following his apprehension by the United States have garnered countless of views across the internet.
How Fake Pictures of the President Appeared Within Hours
Initial inauthentic AI image seemingly showing him taken off a plane circulated shortly after. The graphic was absent from any official US channels; rather, it was uploaded on the platform X by an account describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.
We’ve checked the SynthID tool, confirming the picture was created or altered with AI tools.
Additional synthetic pictures started circulating in the following hours, purporting to present more angles of Maduro under guard. Discernible logos on the graphics show they came from an Instagram account called ultravfx.
The detection tool indicates the further images were similarly generated or edited Google AI.
Real Photo Posted but Fabrications Persisted
The former US president shared the first real photo of Maduro restrained aboard the US Navy ship on that morning. Yet following this confirmation was made public, AI-generated pictures kept circulating but were altered to include the grey athletic wear seen on Maduro.
Online investigation indicate the new fake images were initially shared on the video platform by a digital art profile. Once again, the AI-watermark detector found these subsequent pictures were created or altered AI tools.
Main Takeaways:
- AI-generated content spread rapidly after the news of Maduro's capture.
- The initial fabricated image was shared within hours on social media.
- Tools like AI-watermark detectors were used to verify the images as AI-generated.
- Fabrications persisted to spread and evolve despite the release of real photographs.
- The source of several fakes was traced to specific online accounts focused on AI art.
