Debunking Venezuela Victory Footage and AI Images of Nicolás Maduro.
Computer-created pictures claiming to depict Venezuela's president in custody following his apprehension by the American authorities have gained many millions of views online.
How Fake Pictures of Maduro Appeared Rapidly
Initial fake synthetic picture seemingly showing him taken off a aircraft surfaced within hours. The picture was unpublished by any official American sources; rather, it was uploaded on X by an profile describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
Verification involved the SynthID tool, confirming the image was produced or modified with generative AI.
Additional AI-generated pictures began to spread in the following period, seemingly depicting different views of the leader under guard. Noticeable logos on these pictures indicate they were posted by an Instagram profile named ultravfx.
The detection tool indicates these additional pictures were also generated or edited Google AI.
Authentic Image Released but Fakes Continued
The former US president released the genuine photograph of Maduro restrained aboard the US Navy ship on that morning. However, despite this real photo was released, AI-generated images kept circulating but were altered to include the gray sweatsuit worn by Maduro.
Digital forensics reveal the new fake images were first posted on the video platform by a digital art account. Again, analysis says these further images were produced with Google AI.
Important Facts:
- Deepfakes spread rapidly after the announcement of the president's apprehension.
- The first fake picture was shared within hours on social media.
- Detection software like Google’s SynthID helped to verify the images as AI-generated.
- Fabrications persisted to circulate and evolve even after the publication of authentic images.
- The origin of many fakes was traced to social media profiles dedicated to AI art.
