Unmasking Venezuela Victory Footage and AI-Generated Pictures of Nicolás Maduro.
Computer-created graphics purporting to show Venezuela's president detained after his capture by the US have amassed tens of millions of impressions online.
The Way Fake Pictures of the President Appeared Soon After
Initial fake synthetic picture seemingly showing him taken off a plane emerged shortly after. The picture was not shared any verified US channels; rather, it was posted on X by an account purporting to be an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
We’ve checked Google’s SynthID, confirming the image was created or altered with AI tools.
Additional AI-generated images began to spread in the following hours, appearing to show additional perspectives of the leader under guard. Noticeable identifying marks on these pictures indicate they originated from an Instagram account named ultravfx.
SynthID confirms all of these pictures were also created or altered Google AI.
Real Photo Posted but Fakes Persisted
Donald Trump shared the first real photo of Nicolás Maduro in handcuffs aboard the USS Iwo Jima on that morning. But even after the authentic image was made public, AI-generated images kept circulating but were altered to incorporate the grey tracksuit seen on Maduro.
Reverse image searches indicate these altered fabrications were initially shared on TikTok by a digital art profile. Once again, SynthID confirms these further images were produced with AI tools.
Main Takeaways:
- Synthetic media gained traction following the news of Maduro's capture.
- The first fake picture appeared on the same day on social media.
- Tools like AI-watermark detectors were used to confirm the pictures as AI-generated.
- Fabrications continued to spread and be updated even after the publication of authentic images.
- The source of several fabricated images was linked to social media profiles focused on AI art.
