Unmasking Venezuela Victory Videos and AI Images of Nicolás Maduro.
Synthetic pictures purporting to depict Nicolás Maduro detained following his capture by the American authorities have amassed tens of millions of impressions on social media.
The Way Fake Pictures of Maduro Surfaced Soon After
The first fabricated synthetic picture apparently showing him led off a aircraft surfaced a brief time later. This image was unpublished by any authoritative US channels; rather, it was published on the platform X by an account describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
Verification involved an AI-watermark detector, which found the image was produced or modified with generative AI.
More synthetic pictures were disseminated in the ensuing hours, appearing to show different views of Maduro in custody. Noticeable watermarks on these pictures show they originated from an Instagram account named ultravfx.
AI analysis indicates these additional images were similarly generated or edited AI technology.
Real Photo Released but Fabrications Persisted
Donald Trump released the first real photo of Maduro handcuffed aboard the US Navy ship on Saturday morning. However, despite this real photo was made public, AI-generated pictures kept circulating but were updated to incorporate the grey tracksuit worn by Maduro.
Online investigation reveal the new fake images were originally uploaded on the video platform by a digital art account. Again, SynthID says these further images were produced with generative artificial intelligence.
Important Facts:
- AI-generated content circulated quickly after the news of the president's apprehension.
- The first fake image appeared within hours on social media.
- Detection software like AI-watermark detectors helped to identify the pictures as inauthentic.
- Fake images persisted to spread and evolve despite the release of authentic photographs.
- The origin of many fabricated images was traced to social media profiles dedicated to graphic design.
