Debunking Venezuela Celebration Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Nicolás Maduro.
Computer-created graphics purporting to show Venezuela's president under arrest following his apprehension by the United States have garnered countless of impressions across the internet.
How Fake Pictures of the President Emerged Within Hours
The first inauthentic AI image seemingly displaying him taken off a plane circulated a brief time later. The graphic was absent from any verified US channels; it was instead uploaded on X by an profile describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
Our analysis used the SynthID tool, which found the picture was created or altered with Google AI.
Further synthetic pictures were disseminated in the subsequent hours, seemingly depicting more angles of Maduro detained. Visible logos on the graphics indicate they originated from an Instagram profile called ultravfx.
SynthID confirms these additional images were likewise generated or edited AI technology.
Authentic Image Posted but Fabrications Persisted
The former US president shared the first real photo of Maduro in handcuffs aboard the US Navy ship on Saturday morning. Yet following this real photo was published, synthetic pictures persisted online but were updated to include the grey athletic wear worn by Maduro.
Digital forensics show these altered fabrications were initially shared on TikTok by a graphic design profile. Once again, the AI-watermark detector found these further images were produced with AI tools.
Main Takeaways:
- Synthetic media gained traction following the announcement of Maduro's capture.
- The first fake picture appeared very quickly on social media.
- Detection software like AI-watermark detectors helped to identify the images as synthetic.
- Fabrications persisted to circulate and evolve despite the release of real photographs.
- The origin of many fabricated images was traced to specific online accounts dedicated to graphic design.
