Debunking Venezuela Celebration Footage and AI-Generated Pictures of Maduro.
Synthetic images purporting to portray Venezuela's president under arrest after his apprehension by the US have gained many millions of impressions on social media.
How Fake Pictures of Maduro Surfaced Within Hours
The first fabricated AI image apparently displaying him taken off a aircraft emerged within hours. The picture was absent from any authoritative government accounts; it was instead posted on X by an account describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.
Our analysis used an AI-watermark detector, which found the picture was created or altered with generative AI.
Further synthetic images were disseminated in the following hours, seemingly depicting more angles of Maduro detained. Discernible watermarks on these pictures reveal they originated from an Instagram profile called ultravfx.
The detection tool indicates the further pictures were similarly generated or edited Google AI.
Real Photo Released but Fabrications Persisted
Donald Trump shared the first real photo of Nicolás Maduro in handcuffs aboard the US Navy ship on that morning. However, despite this confirmation was published, synthetic images persisted online but were modified to include the grey tracksuit seen on Maduro.
Digital forensics show these updated fakes were originally uploaded on the video platform by a graphic design profile. Once again, analysis found the new graphics were produced with AI tools.
Main Takeaways:
- AI-generated content gained traction after the events of Maduro's capture.
- The initial fabricated picture was shared very quickly on platform X.
- Detection software like AI-watermark detectors helped to identify the images as AI-generated.
- Fake images continued to spread and evolve despite the publication of authentic photographs.
- The source of many fakes was traced to social media accounts focused on AI art.
