🔗 Share this article

Computer-created images claiming to depict Venezuela's president under arrest following his capture by the United States have gained countless of impressions across the internet.

How AI Images of Maduro Emerged Within Hours

Initial inauthentic AI image seemingly displaying him taken off a aircraft circulated within hours. This image was unpublished by any authoritative government accounts; rather, it was posted on the platform X by an account describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.

We’ve checked an AI-watermark detector, determining the image was generated or edited with Google AI.

Further AI-generated pictures began to spread in the subsequent period, purporting to present additional perspectives of the leader detained. Noticeable logos on these pictures reveal they were posted by an Instagram profile named ultravfx.

The detection tool confirms these additional pictures were also generated or edited generative models.

Real Photo Released but Fakes Continued

Donald Trump shared the first real photo of Maduro restrained aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. Yet following the authentic image was published, AI-generated pictures kept circulating but were modified to include the grey athletic wear worn by Maduro.

Reverse image searches indicate the new fake images were originally uploaded on TikTok by a digital art account. Once again, the AI-watermark detector confirms these further images were generated or edited generative artificial intelligence.

Key Points:

• Deepfakes circulated quickly after the announcement of the president's apprehension.
• The first fake picture was shared very quickly on platform X.
• Detection software like Google’s SynthID were used to confirm the pictures as synthetic.
• Fabrications continued to circulate and evolve even after the release of real images.
• The source of several fakes was linked to social media profiles dedicated to graphic design.