Claim:This video shows an outpouring of support for Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela that is not being reported in the media.
fact:That claim is false. The video is generated by AI.
HYDERABAD: On January 11, US President Donald Trump declared himself 'Acting President of Venezuela'. The move comes after the United States extradited incumbent Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, along with his wife, to New York on January 3 to face federal drug trafficking charges.
Meanwhile, videos of thousands of people swarming the roads holding Venezuelan flags are circulating on social media. Those who shared the video say it shows that Maduro is gaining support in Venezuela, which the media has not reported.
One X user shared the video and wrote, “Venezuela will not be silent. It will not be enslaved. Western media has not shown that resistance does not mean laying down arms in the face of brutal President Trump.” (archive)
Another user shared the video and wrote, “Videos circulating online show thousands of people chanting anti-American slogans in the streets and expressing support for abducted President Nicolas Maduro. Officials say the population remains 'calm and resolute' and stands in solidarity with the government under acting President Delcy Rodriguez.”
fact check
NewsMeter found this claim to be false as the video was generated by AI.
Red flags about video authenticity
We analyzed the videos and found a number of visual inconsistencies common in media of synthetic origin. Some oddities include the robotic movement of the crowd in the video, the overly synchronized slogans, and the distorted faces of the crowd.
This gave us a clue that the footage may have been generated by AI.
To find the origin of the video, we did a keyword search and found that it was posted by the TikTok account (accessible via VPN) 'vezezueal0' on January 11th. The account labeled the video as AI-generated.
We reviewed this account's posts and found that all of the videos support Palestine or Venezuela. However, most of them are labeled as AI-generated media, confirming that the accounts only post AI-generated content.
What are the results of the AI detection tool?
We submitted this video for analysis by Hive Moderation, which concluded that it likely contains AI-generated content or deepfake content, with a total score of 99.9 percent.
Therefore, we conclude that the viral video is generated by AI. Claims that this is a sign of growing support for Maduro in Venezuela are false.
