Exposing Venezuela Victory Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Maduro.
Synthetic graphics purporting to portray Venezuela's president under arrest following his capture by the United States have garnered countless of impressions across the internet.
How AI Images of the President Emerged Soon After
The first fake AI image seemingly showing him being escorted off a aircraft surfaced shortly after. The graphic was unpublished by any verified government accounts; rather, it was published on the platform X by an profile describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.
We’ve checked Google’s SynthID, confirming the picture was created or altered with generative AI.
Further synthetic pictures started circulating in the subsequent hours, purporting to present more angles of Maduro in custody. Discernible watermarks on these pictures indicate they originated from an Instagram account named ultravfx.
SynthID confirms these additional pictures were also produced using generative models.
Authentic Image Posted but Fakes Continued
The former US president released the genuine photograph of Maduro handcuffed aboard the USS Iwo Jima on that morning. However, despite this real photo was released, synthetic images persisted online but were altered to show the grey tracksuit seen on Maduro.
Digital forensics show the new fake images were originally uploaded on TikTok by a digital art account. Similarly, analysis confirms these subsequent pictures were generated or edited Google AI.
Main Takeaways:
- Synthetic media gained traction after the announcement of the president's apprehension.
- The first fake image appeared within hours on platform X.
- Tools like AI-watermark detectors helped to identify the images as synthetic.
- Fabrications persisted to circulate and evolve despite the release of real images.
- The source of many fakes was traced to specific online profiles dedicated to graphic design.
