AI and Outdated Visuals Fuel Misinformation Following Maduro’s Alleged Capture

A surge of visual misinformation has flooded social media platforms following the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro by US forces in a dramatic raid on his Caracas home.

Millions of fabricated images and videos have proliferated across platforms like X and Facebook, creating a digital landscape where artificial content competes with—and often overwhelms—authentic media documenting the high-profile operation.

AFP fact-checkers identified several prominent examples of misinformation, including what purported to be the first image of Maduro in US custody. The image, which showed a younger-looking Maduro flanked by American forces near an aircraft, was identified as AI-generated content through Google’s Gemini tool, which detected an invisible SynthID watermark designed to flag artificial content.

Another widely shared image allegedly showed an American soldier posing with Maduro, who had a bag over his head. Fact-checkers determined this was actually a 2003 image of US forces capturing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, repurposed to fit the current narrative.

The scale of the problem is significant. Media watchdog NewsGuard identified seven fabricated or misrepresented images and videos related to the US operation in Venezuela that collectively garnered more than 14 million views in less than 48 hours on X, the platform owned by Elon Musk.

“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 misinformer’s arsenal,” said Chiara Vercellone, a senior analyst at NewsGuard. “And one that is harder for fact checkers to expose because the visuals often approximate reality.”

Even former President Donald Trump contributed to the spread of misinformation. He shared a viral video on his Truth Social network that supposedly showed Venezuelans celebrating Maduro’s capture by running through streets in their underwear. AFP fact-checkers revealed this was actually footage of UCLA college students participating in the “UCLA undie run,” a quarterly tradition at the university that had been posted on TikTok a month earlier.

The serious misinformation has been accompanied by a wave of humorous AI-generated content, including clips showing Maduro and Trump dancing in the Oval Office, and others depicting the ousted Venezuelan leader alongside prisoners in orange jumpsuits.

This flood of manipulated content illustrates the growing challenge of distinguishing fact from fiction in a digital ecosystem where AI tools can rapidly produce convincing fake content. The phenomenon, which experts call “AI slop”—mass-produced content created by inexpensive AI tools that transform simple text prompts into realistic visuals—is increasingly blurring reality for online audiences.

The timing is particularly sensitive given the high-stakes nature of Maduro’s capture. The Venezuelan leader appeared in a New York court on Monday, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of drug trafficking and “narco-terrorism.”

Meanwhile, Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez has asserted that no foreign power is governing her country, directly contradicting Trump’s claim that Washington would “run” Venezuela pending a transition of power.

The proliferation of misinformation surrounding such a significant geopolitical event highlights the evolving challenges facing fact-checkers, journalists, and social media users attempting to navigate an information landscape increasingly polluted with synthetic content. As AI tools become more sophisticated and accessible, distinguishing authentic news from fabricated material will likely become an even more pressing concern for democratic societies reliant on accurate information.