How an information vacuum about Maduro’s capture was filled with deepfakes and AI

A real-time flood of AI-generated images and videos of Maduro’s capture by US forces on Saturday were re-shared by public figures and garnered millions of views across Europe.

Shortly after US President Donald Trump announced a “large-scale strike” on Venezuela on Saturday, European social media was awash with misleading, AI-generated images of Nicolás Maduro’s capture and videos of Venezuelans celebrating around the world.

Across TikTok, Instagram and X, AI-generated or altered images, old footage repurposed as new footage and out-of-context videos proliferated.

Many racked up millions of views across platforms, and were shared by public figures, including Trump himself, X owner Elon Musk, the son of the former Brazilian president, Flávio Bolsonaro, and the official account of the Portuguese right-wing Chega party in Portugal.

Read more: Euronews