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Synthetic pictures purporting to portray Venezuela's president in custody following his capture by the US have garnered countless of impressions online.

The Way AI Images of the President Emerged Within Hours

The first fake synthetic picture seemingly displaying him being escorted off a aircraft emerged a brief time later. The graphic was not shared any verified American sources; it was instead published on X by an account describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.

Verification involved an AI-watermark detector, confirming the picture was produced or modified with generative AI.

Additional synthetic images started circulating in the ensuing period, seemingly depicting additional perspectives of the leader under guard. Discernible identifying marks on these pictures indicate they were posted by an Instagram profile named ultravfx.

SynthID says these additional pictures were similarly produced using Google AI.

Real Photo Released but Fakes Continued

The former US president released the genuine photograph of Maduro in handcuffs aboard the US Navy ship on that morning. Yet following this confirmation was made public, synthetic images kept circulating but were altered to show the grey tracksuit seen on Maduro.

Reverse image searches indicate these updated fakes were originally uploaded on the video platform by a digital art account. Once again, SynthID says these further images were created or altered Google AI.

Important Facts:

• Synthetic media circulated quickly after the events of the president's apprehension.
• The initial fabricated picture appeared within hours on platform X.
• Detection software like AI-watermark detectors were used to verify the pictures as synthetic.
• Fabrications continued to spread and be updated despite the publication of real images.
• The origin of several fabricated images was linked to specific online profiles dedicated to graphic design.