Unmasking Venezuela Celebration Footage and AI-Generated Pictures of Nicolás Maduro.
Computer-created pictures purporting to depict Venezuela's president detained following his capture by the American authorities have garnered tens of millions of views on social media.
How AI Images of the President Appeared Within Hours
Initial fake AI image apparently displaying him taken off a aircraft emerged shortly after. This image was unpublished by any official US channels; rather, it was uploaded on X by an profile describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.
Our analysis used Google’s SynthID, which found the image was generated or edited with generative AI.
More synthetic images started circulating in the following hours, purporting to present additional perspectives of the leader in custody. Noticeable identifying marks on the graphics reveal they were posted by an Instagram account named ultravfx.
AI analysis says all of these pictures were likewise generated or edited AI technology.
Real Photo Released but Fabrications Continued
The former US president shared the initial authentic image of Maduro restrained aboard the US Navy ship on Saturday morning. But even after the authentic image was published, AI-generated pictures kept circulating but were updated to show the grey athletic wear seen on Maduro.
Online investigation indicate these altered fabrications were initially shared on the video platform by a graphic design account. Again, the AI-watermark detector says these subsequent pictures were generated or edited Google AI.
Key Points:
- Deepfakes circulated quickly following the announcement of the president's apprehension.
- The initial fabricated picture was shared very quickly on platform X.
- Detection software like AI-watermark detectors were used to identify the images as synthetic.
- Fabrications persisted to spread and be updated despite the release of real photographs.
- The source of many fabricated images was traced to social media profiles dedicated to graphic design.
