AI-generated celebrations, old photos spread after Maduro’s capture

MANILA, Philippines – In the hours after the US’ capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro along with his wife Cilia Flores on Saturday, January 3, US time, disinformation in the form of AI-generated videos and old, out-of-context photos spread on social media.

One of the most widely shared is from the X account called Wall Street Apes with a video allegedly showing Venezuelans celebrating on the streets, crying tears of joy, and thanking the US for the arrest of Maduro. As of writing the video is still viewable on X, currently at 5.7 million views. 

Agence France-Presse (AFP) debunked the video, citing the appearance of flags that combine US and Venezuelan flags, and the sudden disappearance of a flag being waved from one frame to the other. The video has been tagged as AI-generated by X’s Community Notes, citing that the plate numbers that appear in the video aren’t of Venezuelan origin. 

While there are verified clips of Venezuelans celebrating in the US, the AFP said that there have been no verified reports of mass street celebrations within the country. 

X owner Elon Musk also reshared the debunked video. 

Disinformation watchdog Newsguard found more.

In its scan, it found 7 pieces of content that allegedly depicted the US military operation, garnering more than 14.1 million views on X two days after the capture. 

The pieces of content were a combination of out-of-context and AI-generated photos and videos.

It found an alleged photo of Maduro in a US military plane wearing pajamas, which it tagged as AI-generated for having two rows of plane windows, and the fact that Maduro was confirmed to have been transported via helicopter. Maduro also wore a different set of clothes in a photo shown by US President Donald Trump. 

Another photo supposedly depicts Maduro with a bag over his head during his capture. The photo was traced to an old 2003 Daily Mail article purportedly showing Saddam Hussein in US captivity. 

One video was also found to be taken out of context, allegedly showing the US military descending upon a military complex to capture Maduro. Newsguard found that it was actually a video showing US Special Forces performance as part of the celebration of the US Army’s 250th anniversary. 

Newsguard wrote, “While many of these visuals do not drastically distort the facts on the ground, the use of AI and dramatic, out-of-context video represents another tactic in the misinformers’ arsenal — and one that is harder for fact checkers to expose because the visuals often approximate reality.”

US news outlet CBS found an image of Maduro allegedly being escorted by US operatives that it deemed as “likely edited or generated using Google AI” after checking on Google’s SynthID tool. 

The photo was posted by the mayor of Coral Gables Florida, Vince Lago, where it remains viewable.

The spread of these pieces of content sowed confusion in the aftermath of the arrest, again reinforcing the danger of disinformation in critical flashpoint moments.

Maduro and Flores on Monday, January 5, US time, both pleaded not guilty to drug charges and said he was “kidnapped” by the US. The hearing drew both pro- and anti-Maduro protesters gathered at the hearing. The next court date is set for March 17. – Rappler.com