Shortly after President Trump announced the unexpected detention of Nicolás Maduro, social media exploded with AI-created deepfakes. These images even depicted Maduro handcuffed and sitting next to Sean “Diddy” Combs, who had once been jailed in the same facility as Maduro.
The quick surge of AI-manipulated images, blending real facts with doctored visuals, sparked significant confusion during a chaotic news period. Some celebrities contributed to the confusion by sharing these deepfake images.
“I think it was the first time I’ve really seen so many AI-generated visuals representing supposedly real events,” remarked Roberta Braga, the executive director of the Digital Democracy Institute of the Americas.
In one of the fakes, Combs appears to be dancing oddly in his cell while Maduro, seemingly emotional, is on a cot nearby. The absurd video has Combs spraying baby oil on the ousted leader as “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” plays in the background, creating a strange montage of their antics, which even includes Maduro in a blonde wig.
Both Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn—where Combs also spent time during his trial that resulted in a conviction for transporting individuals across state lines for sexual purposes.
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson made a playful jab at Combs in light of this, posting a cartoon image of Combs shaking Maduro’s hair, adding a cheeky comment about oil—a reference to both Combs’ controversial habits and the U.S.’s intentions regarding Venezuela’s oil resources.
NewsGuard, which monitors online information accuracy, noted five misleading AI-generated images and two false videos associated with Maduro’s capture, which collectively attained over 14.1 million views on X within just two days. They also mentioned these visuals appeared on other platforms like Instagram and Facebook, but the engagement was less significant there.
“While not all visuals drastically distort the facts, they showcase a new tactic for spreading misinformation, as these somewhat realistic images are challenging for fact-checkers to identify,” NewsGuard noted in a recent report.
Here are the latest updates on the capture of Nicolás Maduro:
In one deepfake, Maduro is shown in white pajamas aboard a U.S. military cargo plane surrounded by soldiers, while others depict him in a gray sweatsuit, mirroring the outfit in authenticated photos from the White House, being escorted by U.S. personnel.
By the time President Trump shared a verified image of Maduro in handcuffs aboard the USS Iwo Jima, skepticism had already spread among social media users about the authenticity of Trump’s posted images.
“It’s amusing, but very typical: people doubt the truth while accepting lies,” said Gianfreddy Gutierrez, a fact-checker based in Caracas.
AI detection technologies can assist in spotting fake content, but tracing deepfakes back to their creators remains a challenging task. A report indicated that widely used AI tools, such as Google’s Gemini and OpenAI models, were employed for free to create fake images of Maduro. Smaller platforms like Z-Image and Seedream contributed as well.
A Google spokesperson mentioned that their AI tools embed a subtle watermark for easy identification of generated content. Users can upload an image through the Gemini app to check if it was made by Google’s AI.
OpenAI stated they allow celebrities to request bans on unauthorized AI-generated content featuring their likeness, emphasizing a focus on preventing harmful deepfakes and violent content.
Mayor Vince Rago of Coral Gables, Florida, shared a fake image portraying Maduro being escorted by Drug Enforcement Administration agents, which drew over 1,500 likes on Instagram and remained online as of Tuesday morning.
The online realm was also flooded with false videos, showing supposed celebrations in Caracas after the U.S. attack. An account with 1.2 million followers shared a video claiming to show Venezuelans rejoicing over Maduro’s arrest, but the footage stemmed from TikTok.
“Venezuelans are celebrating in the streets, tearing down Maduro posters and rejoicing over his capture by Trump,” wrote MAGA influencer Laura Loomer alongside one such video. However, this video actually dated back to 2024, as reported by Wired, and Loomer later removed her post.
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones claimed “millions” of Venezuelans took to the streets celebrating Maduro’s capture, sharing an aerial video of thousands cheering in Caracas, which remained online and garnered over 2.2 million views. Despite being labeled misinformation, he insisted he only intended to show reactions and not imply a specific location.
