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Computer-created pictures claiming to depict Venezuela's president detained after his apprehension by the United States have garnered many millions of views on social media.

How Fake Pictures of Maduro Emerged Rapidly

The first fake synthetic picture seemingly displaying him led off a plane emerged a brief time later. The picture was not shared any authoritative US channels; it was instead uploaded on X by an profile describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.

We’ve checked Google’s SynthID, which found the image was created or altered with AI tools.

Further AI-generated images started circulating in the following hours, seemingly depicting more angles of the leader under guard. Noticeable logos on these images reveal they were posted by an Instagram profile named ultravfx.

SynthID indicates these additional pictures were also produced using AI technology.

Authentic Image Posted but Fabrications Continued

The former US president released the initial authentic image of Maduro in handcuffs aboard the USS Iwo Jima on that morning. However, despite this real photo was released, AI-generated images continued to spread but were updated to include the grey tracksuit worn by Maduro.

Reverse image searches indicate the new fake images were initially shared on the video platform by a digital art account. Again, SynthID found the new graphics were produced with AI tools.

Important Facts:

• Deepfakes gained traction after the announcement of Maduro's capture.
• The first fake picture appeared on the same day on social media.
• Tools like AI-watermark detectors helped to confirm the images as AI-generated.
• Fake images persisted to circulate and be updated even after the publication of authentic photographs.
• The source of many fakes was traced to specific online accounts focused on graphic design.