AI-generated images, old videos and altered photos proliferated on social media in the hours following former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's capture. Several of these images quickly went viral, fueling false information online. 

CBS News analyzed circulating images by comparing dubious images to verified content and using publicly available tools such as reverse image search. In some cases, CBS News ran images through AI detection tools, which can be inconsistent or inaccurate but can still help flag possibly manipulated content.

Checking the source of the content, as well as the date, location, and other news sources are all ways to suss out whether an image is accurate, according to experts.

AI-generated images of Maduro flood social media

After President Trump announced Maduro's capture in a social media post early Saturday morning, questions brewed about the logistics of the mission, where Maduro would be flown and the future of Venezuela. Meanwhile, images of Maduro that were likely manipulated or generated with AI tools circulated on social media, garnering millions of views and thousands of likes across platforms. 

One photo purporting to show Maduro after his capture was shared widely, including by the mayor of Coral Gables Florida, Vince Lago, and in a joint Instagram post by two popular conservative content accounts with over 6 million combined followers. Using Google's SynthID tool, CBS News Confirmed team found the photo was likely edited or generated using Google AI. 

CBS News also found a video generated from the photo, showing military personnel escorting Maduro from an aircraft. It was posted around 6:30 a.m. — 12 hours before CBS News reported that a person in shackles was seen disembarking the plane carrying Maduro and confirmed his eventual arrival Saturday evening at Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal facility in Brooklyn.

Another unverified photo that made the rounds on social media depicts Maduro in an aircraft with U.S. soldiers. While two different AI detection tools gave inconsistent results as to its authenticity, CBS was not able to confirm its legitimacy.

Trump posts photo of Maduro in U.S. custody

On Saturday, Mr. Trump posted an image captioned "Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima" after the South American leader's capture. Later that evening, the White House Rapid Response account shared a video that appeared to show Maduro being escorted down a hallway by federal agents.

Old images recirculate

Old videos and images from past events recirculated, purporting to show reactions to Maduro's capture and strikes in Caracas. One video showing people tearing down a billboard image of Maduro dates as far back as July 2024. Another video purporting to show a strike in Venezuela had circulated on social media as far back as June 2025.

Another image showing a man with a sack over his head while sitting in the back of a car circulated widely, sparking online speculation as to whether the photo showed Maduro's capture. Many users flagged that the photo was probably not of Maduro, but as of this afternoon the post had 30,000 likes and over a thousand reposts. A Daily Mail article from 2023 reported that the photo shows Saddam Hussein after his capture, sitting with a Delta Force member, but CBS has not independently confirmed this.

CBS News reached out to X and Meta regarding the companies' policies on AI-generated images, but has not received a response. X's rules page says it may label posts containing synthetic and manipulated media and Meta says it prohibits AI that contributes to misinformation or disinformation.