Unmasking Venezuelan Celebration Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Maduro.
AI-generated graphics claiming to depict Nicolás Maduro in custody following his apprehension by the US have gained many millions of impressions online.
How Fake Pictures of the President Appeared Soon After
Initial inauthentic AI image apparently displaying him taken off a plane emerged a brief time later. The picture was unpublished by any official government accounts; it was instead posted on X by an profile describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.
Verification involved Google’s SynthID, which found the picture was produced or modified with AI tools.
More synthetic images were disseminated in the ensuing hours, purporting to present additional perspectives of Maduro under guard. Visible logos on these pictures indicate they originated from an Instagram profile named ultravfx.
SynthID indicates the further images were similarly generated or edited AI technology.
Real Photo Released but Fakes Continued
Donald Trump posted the initial authentic image of Maduro in handcuffs aboard the USS Iwo Jima on that morning. However, despite the authentic image was released, synthetic pictures kept circulating but were updated to show the grey athletic wear worn by Maduro.
Digital forensics show these updated fakes were first posted on the video platform by a graphic design profile. Similarly, the AI-watermark detector confirms these subsequent pictures were produced with AI tools.
Main Takeaways:
- Synthetic media gained traction after the news of Maduro's capture.
- The initial fabricated picture appeared on the same day on platform X.
- Tools like AI-watermark detectors were used to identify the pictures as synthetic.
- Fake images persisted to spread and evolve even after the release of real images.
- The origin of several fabricated images was traced to social media profiles focused on graphic design.