Exposing Venezuelan Victory Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Nicolás Maduro.
Computer-created images purporting to show Venezuela's president under arrest after his apprehension by the American authorities have gained countless of views online.
How Fake Pictures of the President Appeared Within Hours
The first inauthentic AI image apparently showing him led off a aircraft emerged shortly after. The picture was absent from any official government accounts; it was instead published on the platform X by an account describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.
Verification involved Google’s SynthID, determining the picture was created or altered with AI tools.
Further AI-generated visuals were disseminated in the ensuing hours, appearing to show more angles of the leader detained. Noticeable logos on these pictures reveal they originated from an Instagram account named ultravfx.
SynthID confirms the further images were similarly generated or edited Google AI.
Real Photo Released but Fakes Persisted
The former US president released the initial authentic image of Maduro in handcuffs aboard the US Navy ship on that morning. Yet following this real photo was published, synthetic images continued to spread but were updated to incorporate the grey tracksuit worn by Maduro.
Online investigation indicate these updated fakes were originally uploaded on TikTok by a graphic design account. Once again, analysis says the new graphics were produced with generative artificial intelligence.
Main Takeaways:
- Synthetic media spread rapidly after the announcement of the president's apprehension.
- The initial fabricated image appeared very quickly on social media.
- Tools like AI-watermark detectors were used to confirm the images as inauthentic.
- Fake images continued to circulate and be updated even after the release of authentic images.
- The source of many fabricated images was traced to social media profiles focused on AI art.
