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Synthetic graphics purporting to show Venezuela's president detained following his apprehension by the US have gained many millions of views across the internet.

The Way Fake Pictures of the President Emerged Soon After

Initial inauthentic AI image seemingly showing him taken off a plane emerged within hours. The graphic was absent from any authoritative US channels; rather, it was published on X by an account describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.

We’ve checked the SynthID tool, confirming the image was produced or modified with AI tools.

Further synthetic pictures began to spread in the subsequent period, seemingly depicting different views of the leader in custody. Noticeable identifying marks on the graphics indicate they came from an Instagram account named ultravfx.

SynthID says all of these pictures were similarly created or altered AI technology.

Authentic Image Posted but Fakes Persisted

Donald Trump posted the first real photo of Nicolás Maduro in handcuffs aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. Yet following this real photo was made public, AI-generated pictures continued to spread but were altered to incorporate the grey athletic wear worn by Maduro.

Digital forensics show these updated fakes were originally uploaded on the video platform by a digital art profile. Again, analysis says the new graphics were generated or edited Google AI.

Key Points:

• Synthetic media circulated quickly after the announcement of Maduro's capture.
• The first fake image appeared very quickly on social media.
• Detection software like Google’s SynthID helped to confirm the pictures as inauthentic.
• Fabrications persisted to spread and evolve even after the publication of real photographs.
• The source of several fabricated images was linked to social media profiles dedicated to AI art.