After Nicolás Maduro’s capture, AI-generated images and videos go viral on social media

After the Trump administration captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, images and videos that claimed to show the aftermath went viral on social media. 

"Venezuelans are crying on their knees thanking Trump and America for freeing them from Nicolas Maduro," the caption of one Jan. 3 X post read. 

The arrest unleashed complicated reactions in the U.S. and abroad. But that X post and other images and videos like it were generated with artificial intelligence, clouding social media with an inaccurate record.

An X user said image of Maduro’s capture was AI-generated

Facebook and X users shared an image of Maduro with his hands behind his back, with soldiers in fatigues flanking him and holding his arms. One of the soldiers has the letters DEA — which stands for the Drug Enforcement Administration — on his uniform. The image is timestamped Jan. 3. Conservative activist Benny Johnson shared the image in a Jan. 3 Facebook post that was shared 14,000 times. 

Tal Hagin, an open source intelligence analyst, found that the image appeared to have been created by X user Ian Weber, who describes himself as an "AI video art enthusiast." In a Jan. 5 X post, Weber said, "This photo I created with AI went viral worldwide."

Hagin also shared an analysis by Gemini, Google’s AI model, that said the image was created with Google AI.

PolitiFact found noncropped versions of the image, which we used to prompt Gemini. It found that the image contains the SynthID watermark for images created by the tool. It is invisible to humans but detectable to Google’s technology.

Trump shared an image on Truth Social on Jan. 3 that he said shows "Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima." News outlets also released pictures of Maduro in U.S. custody, in which he is wearing a light blue jacket. In the real image, he is with DEA Administrator Terry Cole, who is not wearing fatigues.

Images of New York protest, celebration in Venezuela show signs of AI

A Jan. 4 Facebook post shared two images with the caption, "Right now, Americans are marching in New York chanting… ‘Hands off Venezuela,’ ‘Stop the war,’ ‘Free Venezuela’ …while actual Venezuelans are celebrating in the streets because a real dictator is finally gone."

The images show signs of being created with AI. The text on some of the protest signs is illegible, and some of the Venezuelan flags are inaccurate. The real Venezuelan flag has eight stars in an arc, and yellow, blue and red horizontal stripes. One Venezuelan flag in the image has the wrong colors, one had only seven stars, and two showed the stars forming a shape other than an arc.

Protest signs show illegible text. Supposed Venezuelan flags include the wrong colors, or have an inaccurate shape or number of stars. (Screenshots from Facebook)

A protest did occur in Times Square on Jan. 3, but this image does not show that. 

Videos of Venezuelans reacting show inconsistencies

The X account "Wall Street Apes" shared a video with the text, "Venezuelans take to the streets to celebrate Maduro’s downfall," which got 5.3 million views. 

The first clip showed an elderly woman kneeling in the street, clutching a flag and crying, while the second and third clips show young men saying in Spanish, "The dictator finally fell." The fourth clip shows an elderly woman — wearing a shirt similar, but not identical, to the woman on her knees — thanking Trump.

The earliest version of this video that we found was uploaded Jan. 3 by the TikTok account "curiosmindusa." The account has shared other AI-generated videos, including fake clips of Trump. 

Some inconsistencies in the videos show they were AI-generated. In the first clip, a girl disappears in the background, and a flag disappears after a man waves it. The second, third and fourth clips showed inaccurate flags: The stars were in the wrong shape or in the wrong number.

Venezuelan flags show stars that are in the wrong shape or in the wrong number. (Screenshots from TikTok

These images and videos were AI-generated and do not depict real events. We rate them Pants on Fire!

PolitiFact Staff Writer Maria Briceño contributed to this report. 

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