Unmasking Venezuela Celebration Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Maduro.
Synthetic graphics claiming to portray Venezuela's president in custody after his apprehension by the US have amassed tens of millions of impressions on social media.
The Way Fake Pictures of Maduro Emerged Within Hours
The first fake synthetic picture apparently displaying him led off a aircraft circulated a brief time later. The graphic was absent from any official US channels; rather, it was uploaded on the platform X by an profile describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
Verification involved an AI-watermark detector, determining the image was generated or edited with generative AI.
Additional AI-generated pictures were disseminated in the subsequent period, seemingly depicting different views of Maduro under guard. Noticeable logos on these images show they originated from an Instagram account named ultravfx.
SynthID says all of these images were likewise created or altered AI technology.
Authentic Image Posted but Fakes Continued
The former US president shared the first real photo of Nicolás Maduro in handcuffs aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. But even after this real photo was published, AI-generated pictures persisted online but were modified to include the grey athletic wear worn by Maduro.
Online investigation reveal these updated fakes were originally uploaded on TikTok by a digital art account. Similarly, analysis says the new graphics were produced with AI tools.
Important Facts:
- AI-generated content circulated quickly after the news of Maduro's capture.
- The first fake picture appeared very quickly on social media.
- Detection software like Google’s SynthID were used to identify the pictures as AI-generated.
- Fabrications continued to circulate and be updated despite the publication of real photographs.
- The source of several fabricated images was linked to specific online profiles dedicated to AI art.
