In just a few minutes after Donald Trump announced in the early hours of Saturday morning that the United States of America had carried out a “major military strike” on Venezuela, social networks were flooded with a wave of false and misleading content generated with the help of artificial intelligence. As users around the world tried to figure out what was really happening in Caracas, the line between reality and digital manipulation almost completely disappeared.
On platforms such as X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, images and videos allegedly showing dramatic scenes from Venezuela began to spread massively – from photos of President Nicolás Maduro being taken out of a plane by US law enforcement agents, to footage of rocket attacks on Caracas and celebrations of citizens allegedly taking to the streets en masse. Almost all of that content was – fake.
Fake pictures mixed with real footage
What was particularly confusing was that fabricated photos and AI-generated videos were mixed in with authentic footage. Real-life videos of US military planes flying over Caracas, as well as footage of explosions lighting up the night sky over the Venezuelan capital, have surfaced on social media. It was this combination of real and fake materials that made it even more difficult for users, as well as journalists, to distinguish fact from fiction in real time.
The lack of official and confirmed information about the operation itself, together with the rapid progress of artificial intelligence tools, created perfect conditions for disinformation. In this information vacuum, social networks have turned into a training ground for digital mayhem.
Viral forgeries before official confirmation
By the time Trump released the first confirmed photo – showing Nicolás Maduro dressed in a gray tracksuit, blindfolded and handcuffed on the USS Iwo Jima – the fake images had already circulated around the world. In particular, photographs showing Maduro allegedly being executed by agents of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) were widely circulated, although it later turned out that they were entirely generated by artificial intelligence.
According to fact-checking organization NewsGuard, these AI-generated photos and videos have been viewed and shared millions of times across social networks. The speed of their spread was such that false narratives overtook official information in many cases.
Politicians and influencers spread misinformation
Disinformation was not only spread by anonymous users. Vince Lago, the mayor of Coral Gables, Florida, posted one of Maduro’s fake photos on Instagram, claiming that the Venezuelan president is “the leader of a narco-terrorist organization that threatens our country.” The post was liked by more than 1,500 users, and according to available information, the post is still visible.
Such cases further illustrate how susceptible even public figures are to spreading unverified content, especially in moments of geopolitical crisis and strong emotions.
Why AI disinformation is hard to debunk
Although there are tools for verifying the authenticity of content – such as reverse image searches or specialized AI-detection platforms – their reliability is limited. Sofia Rubinson, NewsGuard’s senior editor for disinformation and conspiracy theories, warns that the problem is that many fake images are very similar to real events.
“Many of the AI-generated or de-contextualized visuals currently flooding social media do not drastically distort the actual situation on the ground,” said Rubinson. “However, their purpose is to fill in the gaps in real-time reporting, which represents a new tactic in the disinformation wars – and one that is harder to debunk because visuals often mimic reality very convincingly.”
NewsGuard: Millions of views of misleading content
In a report released Monday afternoon, NewsGuard identified five fake or out-of-context photos as well as two videos linked to the US military operation in Venezuela. One of the photos shows a soldier posing next to Maduro with a black hood over his head – a scene that was never recorded in reality.
One of the videos shows a U.S. Special Forces helicopter descending on an alleged Venezuelan military location, but it was later determined that the footage was taken back in June, at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina.
According to NewsGuard, these seven misleading photos and videos have received more than 14 million views on the X platform alone.
Old footage presented as new events
In addition to AI-generated content, videos from earlier events are also being shared massively, which are mistakenly presented as part of current events in Venezuela. Far-right influencer and Trump’s close associate Laura Loomer published a video of Nicolás Maduro’s poster, claiming that “the people of Venezuela are tearing down his posters en masse.” According to Wired magazine, the footage is from 2024, and Loomer later removed the post.
A similar example comes from Alex Jones, a well-known right-wing influencer and conspiracy theorist, who posted an aerial shot on X of a large crowd of people in Caracas. Jones claimed that “millions of Venezuelans are celebrating the fall of the communist dictator Maduro,” calling for similar “energy” in the United States.
The clip has been viewed more than 2.2 million times and is still available. However, users of Community Notes, a collective moderation tool on the X platform, warned that the video was at least 18 months old. A reverse search of the video showed that it is about protests in Caracas after the disputed presidential elections in July 2024.
Even AI challenges false narratives
Interestingly, even Grok, an AI chatbot integrated into Platform X, disputed Jones’ claim. According to Grok, “current sources show no celebrations in Caracas today, but rather gatherings supporting Maduro”.
Despite the seriousness of the situation and the massive spread of misinformation, the companies Meta, X and TikTok did not respond to journalists’ requests for comment.
This case once again shows how artificial intelligence is becoming a powerful weapon in modern information wars. In times of crisis, when information is scarce and public interest is overwhelming, AI-generated content can shape perceptions of reality in record time – often before the facts even come to light.
