🔗 Share this article Debunking Venezuela Celebration Footage and AI-Generated Pictures of Nicolás Maduro. Computer-created images claiming to depict Nicolás Maduro under arrest after his capture by the United States have garnered countless of impressions on social media. How AI Images of Maduro Surfaced Soon After The first fake AI image seemingly showing him taken off a aircraft surfaced a brief time later. The graphic was absent from any authoritative American sources; it was instead uploaded on X by an profile purporting to be an “AI video art enthusiast”. We’ve checked an AI-watermark detector, which found the picture was produced or modified with AI tools. Further synthetic pictures were disseminated in the following hours, purporting to present different views of the leader detained. Noticeable watermarks on these pictures show they originated from an Instagram profile called ultravfx. SynthID confirms these additional pictures were similarly generated or edited generative models. Real Photo Posted but Fabrications Persisted The former US president shared the genuine photograph of Nicolás Maduro in handcuffs aboard the USS Iwo Jima on that morning. However, despite this confirmation was made public, synthetic images persisted online but were altered to incorporate the gray sweatsuit seen on Maduro. Online investigation reveal these altered fabrications were initially shared on the video platform by a graphic design account. Again, analysis found these further images were generated or edited AI tools. Important Facts: Deepfakes gained traction after the events of the president's apprehension. The initial fabricated picture was shared on the same day on platform X. Detection software like AI-watermark detectors helped to identify the images as AI-generated. Fabrications persisted to circulate and be updated despite the release of authentic photographs. The origin of many fakes was traced to specific online profiles dedicated to graphic design.