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Synthetic images claiming to show Venezuela's president under arrest after his capture by the American authorities have garnered many millions of views across the internet.

How AI Images of the President Surfaced Rapidly

Initial fabricated AI image seemingly showing him led off a aircraft circulated within hours. The graphic was unpublished by any authoritative American sources; it was instead published on X by an account purporting to be an “AI video art enthusiast”.

We’ve checked the SynthID tool, which found the image was produced or modified with Google AI.

Additional synthetic visuals started circulating in the following hours, seemingly depicting different views of Maduro detained. Noticeable watermarks on the graphics indicate they came from an Instagram account called ultravfx.

AI analysis confirms the further images were similarly created or altered AI technology.

Real Photo Released but Fakes Continued

Donald Trump released the genuine photograph of Nicolás Maduro restrained aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. Yet following this real photo was made public, synthetic pictures kept circulating but were updated to include the grey athletic wear seen on Maduro.

Online investigation reveal these updated fakes were first posted on TikTok by a digital art account. Similarly, analysis says these subsequent pictures were created or altered Google AI.

Important Facts:

• Deepfakes gained traction after the announcement of Maduro's capture.
• The first fake image appeared on the same day on platform X.
• Detection software like AI-watermark detectors helped to confirm the images as AI-generated.
• Fake images continued to circulate and evolve despite the publication of authentic images.
• The origin of several fabricated images was traced to specific online accounts focused on AI art.