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Synthetic graphics purporting to portray Nicolás Maduro in custody following his capture by the US have gained tens of millions of views across the internet.

The Way Fake Pictures of the President Surfaced Rapidly

The first fake synthetic picture apparently displaying him taken off a plane circulated a brief time later. The picture was unpublished by any authoritative government accounts; it was instead uploaded on X by an account describing itself as an “AI video art enthusiast”.

We’ve checked the SynthID tool, which found the picture was created or altered with generative AI.

Additional synthetic pictures started circulating in the ensuing period, seemingly depicting different views of Maduro under guard. Discernible watermarks on these images indicate they originated from an Instagram account called ultravfx.

AI analysis confirms all of these pictures were likewise generated or edited generative models.

Authentic Image Released but Fakes Continued

Donald Trump shared the initial authentic image of Maduro in handcuffs aboard the US Navy ship on Saturday morning. Yet following this confirmation was published, AI-generated pictures continued to spread but were modified to include the grey athletic wear worn by Maduro.

Online investigation reveal these updated fakes were first posted on TikTok by a graphic design profile. Similarly, analysis found these further images were created or altered AI tools.

Main Takeaways:

• Deepfakes gained traction following the news of Maduro's capture.
• The first fake picture was shared on the same day on platform X.
• Detection software like Google’s SynthID were used to verify the images as AI-generated.
• Fake images continued to spread and be updated despite the release of authentic images.
• The origin of several fabricated images was traced to specific online profiles focused on AI art.