Debunking Venezuelan Celebration Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Maduro.
Synthetic graphics purporting to show Venezuela's president detained following his apprehension by the American authorities have gained many millions of views across the internet.
The Way AI Images of Maduro Appeared Soon After
The first fake AI image apparently displaying him being escorted off a aircraft surfaced a brief time later. The picture was unpublished by any authoritative government accounts; rather, it was uploaded on X by an profile describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
Verification involved Google’s SynthID, determining the image was generated or edited with Google AI.
More AI-generated pictures began to spread in the ensuing hours, appearing to show additional perspectives of the leader detained. Visible identifying marks on the graphics show they came from an Instagram account named ultravfx.
The detection tool indicates these additional pictures were also created or altered Google AI.
Real Photo Released but Fakes Persisted
The former US president posted the initial authentic image of Nicolás Maduro handcuffed aboard the US Navy ship on Saturday morning. However, despite this confirmation was made public, AI-generated images persisted online but were modified to incorporate the grey tracksuit worn by Maduro.
Online investigation reveal these updated fakes were initially shared on the video platform by a graphic design account. Similarly, SynthID says these subsequent pictures were created or altered generative artificial intelligence.
Key Points:
- Deepfakes spread rapidly following the announcement of the president's apprehension.
- The first fake picture was shared on the same day on social media.
- Tools like Google’s SynthID were used to identify the images as synthetic.
- Fake images continued to circulate and be updated even after the release of authentic photographs.
- The source of many fabricated images was traced to specific online accounts focused on graphic design.
