Fact Check: Venezuelans flood streets, demand release of Maduro? No, video is AI-generated
A video has been circulating online, claiming it shows support pouring for former President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, which is not being reported by the media.
By - Md Mahfooz Alam
Claim:The video shows support pouring for Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, which is not being reported by the media.
Fact:The claim is false. The video is AI-generated.
Hyderabad: On January 11, US President Donald Trump declared himself the ‘Acting President of Venezuela’. This comes after the US capture and removal of sitting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was flown to New York along with his wife to face federal drug trafficking charges on January 3.
Meanwhile, a video of thousands of people reportedly crowding the road with the national flag of Venezuela has been circulating on social media. Those sharing the video claim that it shows support pouring for Maduro in Venezuela, which is not being reported by the media.
Sharing the video, an X user wrote, “Venezuela is not silent, it will not become a slave. The Western media is not showing that the resistance does not mean that they have surrendered their arms before the savage Trump.” (Archive)
Another user shared the video and wrote, “Video circulating online shows thousands in the streets, chanting anti-US slogans and voicing support for their kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro. Officials say the population remains ‘calm and firm,’ united with the government under acting President Delcy Rodríguez.”
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false, as the video is AI-generated.
Red flags about video’s authenticity
We analysed the video and found many visual discrepancies that are common in media of synthetic origin. The oddities include the movement of the crowd in the video being robotic, slogans too synchronised and a distorted face among the crowd.
This gave us the clue that the footage could be AI-generated.
Origin of the video
To find the origin of the video, we conducted a reverse image search and found it posted by the TikTok account (accessible via a VPN), ‘vezezueal0’, on January 11. The account has labelled the video as AI-generated.
We reviewed the posts by the account and found that all the videos either supported Palestine or Venezuela. However, with most of them being labelled as AI-generated media, confirms that the account posts only AI-generated content.
What is the result of the AI-detection tool?
We subjected the video to analysis by Hive Moderation, which concluded that the video is likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content with an aggregate score of 99.9 per cent.
Therefore, we conclude that the viral video is AI-generated. The claim that it shows support pouring for Maduro in Venezuela is false.
