Unmasking Venezuela Victory Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Nicolás Maduro.
Synthetic pictures purporting to show Venezuela's president detained after his apprehension by the American authorities have gained many millions of views on social media.
How AI Images of the President Emerged Soon After
The first fabricated AI image apparently displaying him taken off a aircraft surfaced a brief time later. This image was not shared any authoritative government accounts; it was instead posted on X by an account describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
Verification involved the SynthID tool, confirming the picture was generated or edited with AI tools.
Additional AI-generated pictures began to spread in the subsequent hours, appearing to show different views of the leader under guard. Discernible identifying marks on these images reveal they originated from an Instagram account named ultravfx.
SynthID says all of these images were likewise generated or edited AI technology.
Real Photo Posted but Fabrications Persisted
Donald Trump released the initial authentic image of Maduro handcuffed aboard the USS Iwo Jima on that morning. Yet following this real photo was made public, AI-generated images kept circulating but were altered to include the grey tracksuit seen on Maduro.
Reverse image searches reveal these altered fabrications were first posted on the video platform by a graphic design account. Again, the AI-watermark detector confirms these subsequent pictures were created or altered Google AI.
Important Facts:
- AI-generated content circulated quickly following the announcement of Maduro's capture.
- The first fake image appeared on the same day on social media.
- Detection software like AI-watermark detectors helped to confirm the images as AI-generated.
- Fake images persisted to spread and be updated even after the release of authentic photographs.
- The origin of many fabricated images was traced to social media accounts dedicated to AI art.
