Misleading AI content spreads in the wake of Maduro’s removal
Following the US military operation in Venezuela that led to the dismissal of leader Nicolas Maduro, videos created by artificial intelligence showing Venezuelan citizens celebrating in the streets went viral on social media.
These AI clips depicting jubilant crowds have racked up millions of views across major platforms like TikTok, Instagram and X.
One of the first and most shared clips on X was published by the account called “Wall Street Apes”, which has more than 1 million followers on the platform.
to mail It depicts a number of Venezuelan citizens shedding tears of joy, thanking the United States and President Donald Trump for removing Maduro from office.
The video has since been flagged by a community note, a crowdsourced fact-checking feature on X that allows users to add context to posts they believe are misleading. “This video was created by artificial intelligence and is currently presented as a factual statement intended to mislead people,” the note read.
The clip has been viewed over 5.6 million times and reshared by at least 38,000 accounts; This included businessman Elon Musk, who eventually removed the repost.
CNBC could not verify the source of the video, but fact-checkers at the BBC and AFP said the earliest known version of the clip appeared on the TikTok account @curiousmindusaRegularly publishing AI-generated content.
Even before such videos appeared, Images created by artificial intelligence Images showing Maduro in US custody circulating Before the Trump administration released an actual photo of the captured leader.
The ousted Venezuelan president was captured on January 3, 2026, after US forces launched airstrikes and ground assaults that dominated global headlines at the beginning of the new year.
In addition to videos created by artificial intelligence, AFP’s fact-checking team It also pointed to examples of misleading content about Maduro’s ouster, including footage of celebrations in America mistakenly presented as scenes from Venezuela.
Misinformation from major news stories is not new. Similar false or misleading content circulated during the Israel-Palestine and Russia-Ukraine conflicts.
However, the wide reach and realism of AI-generated content regarding recent developments in Venezuela are striking examples of how AI is advancing as a tool of misinformation.
Platforms like Sora and Midjourney have made it easier than ever to quickly create hyper-realistic video and make it look real amid the chaos of fast-moving events. Creators of this content often seek to reinforce certain political narratives or create confusion among global audiences.
Last year, AI-generated videos of women complaining that they lost their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits during the government shutdown also went viral. One such video created by artificial intelligence fooled Fox News. presented as if it were real in a later article. removed.
In light of these trends, social media companies have faced increasing pressure to step up efforts to label potentially misleading AI content.
Last year the Indian government recommended While there is a law requiring such labeling, Spain approved Fines of up to €35 million for unlabelled AI materials.
To address growing concerns, major platforms including TikTok and Meta have rolled out AI detection and tagging tools, although the results appear to be mixed.
CNBC was able to identify some videos on TikTok In Venezuela, it was presented as celebrations labeled as AI-generated.
In the case of X, the platform relied mostly on community notes for content tagging; Critics of the system say it often reacts too slowly to prevent AI misinformation from spreading before it is detected.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram and Threads, recently acknowledged the challenges facing social media. to mail. “All the major platforms will do a good job of identifying AI content, but they will get worse at this over time as AI gets better at mimicking reality,” he said.
“An increasing number of people, like me, believe that fingerprinting real media is more practical than fake media,” he added.
— CNBC’s Victoria Yeo contributed to this report
