Exposing Venezuelan Celebration Footage and AI-Generated Pictures of Maduro.

Synthetic pictures claiming to portray Venezuela's president under arrest following his capture by the US have gained many millions of impressions on social media.

How Fake Pictures of the President Appeared Soon After

Initial inauthentic AI image seemingly displaying him being escorted off a aircraft surfaced within hours. This image was not shared any verified US channels; it was instead uploaded on X by an account purporting to be an “AI video art enthusiast”.

Our analysis used an AI-watermark detector, determining the image was generated or edited with generative AI.

More synthetic visuals were disseminated in the following hours, seemingly depicting different views of the leader in custody. Visible watermarks on these pictures reveal they originated from an Instagram account called ultravfx.

The detection tool says the further images were also created or altered generative models.

Real Photo Released but Fabrications Continued

The former US president posted the first real photo of Nicolás Maduro handcuffed aboard the US Navy ship on that morning. Yet following this confirmation was published, synthetic images continued to spread but were updated to include the grey tracksuit worn by Maduro.

Digital forensics reveal these altered fabrications were originally uploaded on TikTok by a graphic design profile. Similarly, SynthID found these subsequent pictures were generated or edited Google AI.

Main Takeaways:

• Deepfakes gained traction following the news of Maduro's capture.
• The initial fabricated image appeared very quickly on social media.
• Tools like AI-watermark detectors helped to identify the pictures as inauthentic.
• Fake images continued to spread and be updated despite the publication of authentic photographs.
• The source of several fakes was traced to social media profiles dedicated to graphic design.