Unmasking Venezuelan Victory Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Maduro.
Computer-created pictures claiming to depict Venezuela's president in custody following his apprehension by the US have amassed countless of impressions across the internet.
How Fake Pictures of the President Appeared Soon After
The first fake synthetic picture seemingly displaying him being escorted off a plane circulated within hours. The picture was absent from any verified American sources; it was instead uploaded on the platform X by an account describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.
Verification involved an AI-watermark detector, confirming the image was produced or modified with AI tools.
More AI-generated images were disseminated in the ensuing period, seemingly depicting different views of the leader under guard. Noticeable logos on these pictures indicate they came from an Instagram account named ultravfx.
SynthID says these additional pictures were also created or altered Google AI.
Authentic Image Posted but Fakes Persisted
Donald Trump posted the first real photo of Nicolás Maduro restrained aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. Yet following this confirmation was released, synthetic pictures kept circulating but were updated to incorporate the grey tracksuit seen on Maduro.
Reverse image searches reveal these updated fakes were originally uploaded on the video platform by a graphic design profile. Once again, SynthID found these subsequent pictures were generated or edited Google AI.
Important Facts:
- AI-generated content gained traction after the events of Maduro's capture.
- The initial fabricated image was shared on the same day on platform X.
- Detection software like Google’s SynthID helped to verify the pictures as synthetic.
- Fake images continued to circulate and be updated despite the release of real images.
- The origin of many fakes was linked to social media profiles dedicated to graphic design.
