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Since the US detained Nicolas Maduro in early January, the internet has become a “hall of mirrors” as real footage has been buried under a mountain of AI-generated content.
These digital deepfakes range from the comedic to the highly surreal.
In one clip, an AI-generated Maduro tries to escape through a vent, but ends up dancing with Donald Trump to an Ice Spice track.
Leon Hernandez, a researcher at Andrés Bello Catholic University, said “disinformation labs” have flooded the platforms, creating widespread skepticism.
Hernandez told AFP that the goal was to overwhelm the audience and make it impossible to tell fact from fiction.
Professor Elena Block from the University of Queensland explained that AI is the latest tool used to silence dissent.
This is nothing new for Venezuela, as Maduro has previously been portrayed as a comic book superhero named “Super Bigote.”
AI as a technology has evolved and become more divisive. Trump has also used AI tools to post offensive images, which Bullock claims trivialize the political landscape.
Mr Block warned that this digital manipulation was the “greatest threat to democracy”.
As these tools become more accessible, truth becomes a luxury and increasingly difficult to find.
