Video showing celebrations after Venezuelan leader's capture is AI-generated
- Published on January 20, 2026 at 04:57
- 2 min read
- By AFP Middle East & North Africa, AFP Mexico
- Translation and adaptation AFP Indonesia
After Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was seized by the United States during a military operation in early January 2026, a video circulated in social media posts falsely claiming it showed people celebrating his capture. Although Venezuelans abroad greeted his ouster in their thousands in cities worldwide, the video was in fact generated using AI.
The clip purportedly showing Venezuelans celebrating the seizure of the country's president by US special forces was shared on Facebook on January 9, 2026.
Its Indonesian-language caption reads: "Venezuelans are reported to be celebrating the news of President Nicolás Maduro's arrest by US special forces. Celebrations were seen at several locations, particularly among Venezuelan diaspora communities overseas."
The same video was also shared elsewhere on Facebook after the United States announced it had captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3 (archived link).
The deposed president and Flores were flown to New York, where they both pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges on January 5 (archived link).
Maduro's deputy Delcy Rodríguez was appointed interim president, with Washington signalling a willingness to work with her while pressing for access to the country's oil and continued political concessions (archived link).
While some of the nearly eight million Venezuelans who fled economic collapse and repression under Maduro gathered in their thousands in cities worldwide to celebrate his ouster, the circulating video was created with the help of AI tools (archived link).
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to a clip labelled as "AI-generated" posted on TikTok on January 3 showing the same scene (archived link).
The account frequently uploads various videos created using AI and states in its bio that the posts are merely intended as "comedy".
The video also contains several visual inconsistencies, such as blurry and overlapping objects, distorted animals, hands, and fingers, which are telltale signs of content created with the help of AI.
An analysis of the clip by Hive Moderation, a tool designed to identify AI-generated content, says the clip is "likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content".
AFP has debunked other false claims that have cropped up on social media since the ouster of Maduro.
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