Exposing Venezuelan Victory Videos and AI-Generated Pictures of Nicolás Maduro.
AI-generated pictures claiming to portray Venezuela's president under arrest after his apprehension by the American authorities have garnered tens of millions of views online.
The Way Fake Pictures of the President Surfaced Rapidly
The first inauthentic synthetic picture seemingly displaying him taken off a aircraft emerged shortly after. The picture was not shared any verified US channels; rather, it was published on X by an account describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.
Verification involved an AI-watermark detector, determining the picture was generated or edited with Google AI.
Additional AI-generated visuals began to spread in the ensuing period, seemingly depicting more angles of the leader under guard. Discernible watermarks on these images show they came from an Instagram account named ultravfx.
The detection tool says the further images were likewise created or altered AI technology.
Real Photo Released but Fakes Persisted
Donald Trump released the genuine photograph of Nicolás Maduro restrained aboard the USS Iwo Jima on that morning. However, despite this confirmation was made public, AI-generated images persisted online but were updated to include the grey athletic wear worn by Maduro.
Online investigation show the new fake images were initially shared on the video platform by a graphic design account. Once again, SynthID found these subsequent pictures were generated or edited AI tools.
Main Takeaways:
- AI-generated content spread rapidly after the events of Maduro's capture.
- The initial fabricated picture appeared within hours on platform X.
- Detection software like AI-watermark detectors helped to identify the images as inauthentic.
- Fabrications persisted to spread and be updated despite the publication of authentic photographs.
- The origin of many fakes was traced to social media profiles focused on AI art.
