Unmasking Venezuelan Celebration Videos and AI Images of Nicolás Maduro.
Synthetic graphics purporting to show Venezuela's president under arrest following his capture by the American authorities have garnered many millions of impressions across the internet.
The Way Fake Pictures of the President Appeared Rapidly
The first fake AI image seemingly showing him being escorted off a aircraft emerged within hours. The picture was not shared any official government accounts; rather, it was posted on X by an profile describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
We’ve checked Google’s SynthID, which found the image was generated or edited with AI tools.
More synthetic pictures started circulating in the following hours, seemingly depicting additional perspectives of Maduro detained. Noticeable identifying marks on these pictures reveal they came from an Instagram account called ultravfx.
The detection tool says all of these pictures were likewise created or altered Google AI.
Authentic Image Posted but Fabrications Continued
The former US president posted the first real photo of Nicolás Maduro handcuffed aboard the USS Iwo Jima on that morning. But even after this real photo was made public, AI-generated images persisted online but were modified to incorporate the grey tracksuit worn by Maduro.
Digital forensics show these altered fabrications were first posted on TikTok by a graphic design account. Once again, analysis says the new graphics were produced with Google AI.
Important Facts:
- Synthetic media circulated quickly after the events of the president's apprehension.
- The first fake picture appeared very quickly on platform X.
- Detection software like Google’s SynthID were used to identify the images as synthetic.
- Fabrications continued to circulate and be updated despite the release of real photographs.
- The source of many fabricated images was traced to specific online profiles focused on AI art.
