WASHINGTON, DC — In the aftermath of the dramatic capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro by US forces, social media platforms have become inundated with sophisticated visual disinformation, blurring the boundaries between reality and fabrication. The digital landscape has been flooded with artificially generated and repurposed imagery that has collectively garnered millions of engagements, signaling a new era of AI-powered misinformation.
Fact-checkers from AFP identified numerous deceptive posts circulating on major platforms including X and Facebook shortly after the operation. One widely-shared image purported to show Maduro in US custody, flanked by American military personnel near an aircraft. However, investigation revealed the photograph was entirely AI-generated, featuring a noticeably younger-looking Maduro. Google’s Gemini AI tool detected a SynthID watermark, confirming its artificial origins.
Another viral image depicted an American soldier posing with a hooded Maduro, but digital archivists confirmed this was actually footage from the 2003 capture of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, repurposed two decades later to mislead contemporary audiences.
Disinformation monitoring service NewsGuard reported identifying seven fabricated or misrepresented visual materials related to the Venezuela operation that accumulated over 14 million views within 48 hours on X alone. This phenomenon represents what analysts term ‘AI slop’ – mass-produced synthetic content created through inexpensive AI tools that transform simple text prompts into photorealistic imagery.
Chiara Vercellone, senior analyst at NewsGuard, noted: ‘While many of these visuals don’t radically distort factual circumstances, they represent another weapon in the misinformer’s arsenal that proves increasingly difficult for fact-checkers to debunk due to their approximation of reality.’
The disinformation wave extended to highest levels of political influence, with former President Donald Trump amplifying a viral video on his Truth Social platform claiming to show Venezuelans celebrating Maduro’s capture by running through streets in their underwear. AFP’s verification team traced this footage to UCLA’s quarterly ‘Undie Run’ tradition among college students, recorded weeks before the Venezuela operation.
Adding to the confusion, humorous AI-generated clips circulated alongside legitimate news coverage, including one depicting Maduro and Trump dancing together in the Oval Office and another showing the ousted leader posing with prisoners in orange jumpsuits.
The developments occur amid serious geopolitical proceedings, with Maduro pleading not guilty to drug trafficking and ‘narco-terrorism’ charges in a New York courtroom on Monday. Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez asserted that no foreign power governs her nation, responding to Trump’s statement that Washington would ‘run’ Venezuela during transition period.