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Synthetic graphics purporting to depict Nicolás Maduro detained following his capture by the United States have gained countless of views online.

The Way Fake Pictures of the President Appeared Rapidly

Initial inauthentic synthetic picture apparently showing him led off a plane circulated a brief time later. The picture was unpublished by any authoritative American sources; it was instead published on the platform X by an account purporting to be an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.

Our analysis used Google’s SynthID, which found the picture was generated or edited with Google AI.

Further AI-generated pictures began to spread in the following period, seemingly depicting more angles of Maduro under guard. Noticeable identifying marks on these pictures indicate they were posted by an Instagram profile called ultravfx.

AI analysis confirms these additional pictures were also produced using Google AI.

Real Photo Released but Fabrications Continued

Donald Trump shared the first real photo of Nicolás Maduro in handcuffs aboard the US Navy ship on that morning. However, despite the authentic image was published, AI-generated images kept circulating but were altered to incorporate the grey athletic wear seen on Maduro.

Reverse image searches show these altered fabrications were first posted on the video platform by a graphic design profile. Once again, the AI-watermark detector says the new graphics were generated or edited generative artificial intelligence.

Main Takeaways:

• AI-generated content gained traction after the announcement of the president's apprehension.
• The initial fabricated image appeared on the same day on platform X.
• Detection software like Google’s SynthID were used to verify the pictures as synthetic.
• Fake images continued to circulate and be updated even after the release of real images.
• The origin of several fabricated images was traced to social media accounts dedicated to AI art.