🔗 Share this article Exposing Venezuelan Victory Footage and AI-Generated Pictures of Maduro. Computer-created graphics purporting to show Nicolás Maduro in custody after his apprehension by the United States have garnered many millions of impressions online. How Fake Pictures of Maduro Surfaced Soon After The first fake AI image seemingly displaying him led off a aircraft surfaced within hours. The graphic was not shared any official American sources; it was instead published on X by an account describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”. We’ve checked an AI-watermark detector, confirming the picture was produced or modified with Google AI. Additional AI-generated images started circulating in the following hours, purporting to present additional perspectives of Maduro in custody. Visible logos on these images reveal they came from an Instagram account called ultravfx. The detection tool says these additional images were also produced using Google AI. Real Photo Posted but Fabrications Persisted The former US president released the genuine photograph of Nicolás Maduro in handcuffs aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. But even after this confirmation was made public, synthetic pictures kept circulating but were altered to incorporate the grey tracksuit worn by Maduro. Digital forensics indicate the new fake images were originally uploaded on the video platform by a digital art account. Again, the AI-watermark detector found these subsequent pictures were generated or edited AI tools. Key Points: Synthetic media spread rapidly after the news of the president's apprehension. The initial fabricated image appeared on the same day on platform X. Tools like AI-watermark detectors were used to verify the images as synthetic. Fabrications persisted to circulate and evolve even after the publication of authentic images. The origin of several fakes was linked to specific online profiles dedicated to graphic design.