AI images of Maduro capture reap millions of views on social media | AI (artificial intelligence)

Minutes after Donald Trump announced a “large-scale attack” against Venezuela early Saturday morning, false and misleading images generated by artificial intelligence began flowing on social media. There were fake photos of Nicolás Maduro being taken off a plane by US law enforcement, footage of jubilant Venezuelans taking to the streets of Caracas, and videos of missiles raining down on the city; they are all fake.

The fabricated content was combined with real video and photos of US planes flying over the Venezuelan capital and explosions illuminating the dark sky. The lack of verified information about the raid, combined with the rapidly evolving capabilities of artificial intelligence tools, has made it difficult to distinguish fact from fiction about the attack on Caracas.

When Trump publishes a message verified photo The image of Maduro blindfolded, handcuffed and wearing a gray tracksuit on the USS Iwo Jima warship, as well as fake images of US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, had already gone viral. According to fact-checking site NewsGuard, the AI ​​photos have been seen and shared millions of times on X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.

Vince Lago, Mayor of Coral Gables, Florida He published the fake photo Maduro was taken to Instagram by DEA agents and said the Venezuelan president “is the leader of a narco-terrorist organization that threatens our country.” Lago’s post received more than 1,500 likes and is still live as of this writing.

Tools to detect manipulated content, such as reverse image search and AI detection sites, can help evaluate whether online images are accuratebut they are inconsistent. Sofia Rubinson, a senior editor who covers misinformation and conspiracy theories for NewsGuard, told the Guardian that fake footage of Caracas looked similar to real events, making it even harder to tell what was real.

“Many of the out-of-context AI-generated images currently circulating on social media do not grossly distort the facts on the ground,” Rubinson said. “Yet the use of AI-generated fabrications and dramatic, out-of-context images are being used to fill gaps in real-time reporting and represent another tactic in the misinformation wars — and one that is more difficult for fact checkers to uncover because images often approximate the truth.”

News Guardian published a report On Monday afternoon, five fabricated and out-of-context photographs were identified, as well as two videos related to the military operation in Venezuela. In a photo generated by artificial intelligence, a soldier is seen posing next to Maduro, wearing a black hood. An out-of-context video shows a US special forces helicopter landing in Venezuela’s so-called military zone; The actual footage was shot in June at Fort Bragg army base in North Carolina.

NewsGuard said seven misleading photos and videos it identified have now received more than 14 million views on X alone.

Other images of past events are also circulating online and distributed as part of Saturday’s strike. Far-right extremist and Trump confidante Laura Loomer posted on X images of a poster of the Venezuelan president that reads, “Venezuelan people are tearing down Maduro posters.” According to Wired, Images are from 2024. Loomer has since removed the post.

Alex Jones, another right-wing influencer and conspiracy theorist, posted aerial video showing thousands of people cheering in Caracas. “Millions of Venezuelans filled the streets of Caracas and other major cities to celebrate the overthrow of Communist dictator Nicholas Maduro,” Jones wrote. “Now we need to see the same kind of energy here at HomeFront!”

The video, which is still live, has reached more than 2.2 million views. Comments on the post on Community Notes, X’s crowdsourcing moderation tool, say the video is “at least 18 months old.” A reverse image search of the video shows that the footage is actually from a protest in Caracas following Maduro’s disputed presidential victory in July 2024.

Grok, the platform’s AI chatbot, also disputes the timeline of Jones’ video, saying: “Available sources indicate that there was no such celebration in Caracas today, but rather pro-Maduro meetings.”

Meta, X and TikTok did not respond to requests for comment.