Debunking Venezuela Victory Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Maduro.

Synthetic graphics claiming to depict Nicolás Maduro in custody following his capture by the US have gained many millions of views across the internet.

The Way Fake Pictures of the President Emerged Soon After

Initial fabricated synthetic picture seemingly displaying him taken off a plane emerged within hours. The graphic was absent from any verified American sources; rather, it was published on X by an profile describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.

Verification involved the SynthID tool, which found the image was created or altered with Google AI.

Additional AI-generated visuals began to spread in the ensuing hours, seemingly depicting different views of the leader in custody. Visible watermarks on these pictures indicate they originated from an Instagram account named ultravfx.

SynthID indicates all of these pictures were also created or altered AI technology.

Real Photo Posted but Fabrications Continued

Donald Trump shared the first real photo of Nicolás Maduro in handcuffs aboard the US Navy ship on Saturday morning. Yet following this confirmation was released, AI-generated images continued to spread but were altered to include the gray sweatsuit worn by Maduro.

Online investigation show the new fake images were originally uploaded on TikTok by a graphic design profile. Again, the AI-watermark detector confirms these further images were produced with AI tools.

Main Takeaways:

• Synthetic media gained traction following the news of Maduro's capture.
• The initial fabricated image was shared very quickly on social media.
• Tools like Google’s SynthID were used to confirm the pictures as AI-generated.
• Fake images continued to spread and be updated despite the release of authentic images.
• The source of many fakes was traced to specific online profiles focused on AI art.