“The avalanche began:” how a fake Gemini image of Maduro’s arrest spread like real news on X

The man who created the viral AI-generated image of General Nicolas Maduro being captured by US forces has revealed that he hadn’t expected it to go viral, sparking concerns about misinformation at the very top of the news headlines.

Ian Weber, a self-proclaimed “AI video art enthusiast,” has spoken out about his surprise that his Google Gemini AI-generated photo of US forces capturing the Venezuelan leader, General Maduro, has garnered millions of views on X.

“I never expected this to become the most shared picture worldwide,” he told the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) through direct message, from his account, which has less than 100 followers.

On January 3rd, as the news broke of the snatch and grab in Caracas, Weber, currently based in Spain, took to prompting Gemini.

The command read, in Spanish, “Nicolas Maduro detained by American assault forces. Put a granular photo.”

Maduro has been captured. He has been flown out of the country. #trump #Venezuela pic.twitter.com/BcNWmSeIDM

undefined Ian Weber (@San_live) January 3, 2026

“I just wanted to see if an account on X with fewer than 78 followers at the time could make a picture go viral organically,” Weber told AFP.

As many users questioned Grok AI about the authenticity of the image, it would occasionally assert that it was real, with more popular channels retweeting the photo, albeit with some variations.

“That was when the avalanche began,” said Weber.

“Everyone was suddenly desperate to publish the first picture of his arrest.”

Over the coming days, the more discerning X channels pointed out that the images followers were scrolling through were indeed fake, with some even spotting Gemini’s invisible synthID watermark, which is embedded in the design.

Did you see these images on your social media feed? They’re AI fakes.

Read more in Reality Check: https://t.co/CwRUmQ7Hip pic.twitter.com/Zwrrw4rVFy

undefined NewsGuard (@NewsGuardRating) January 5, 2026

Confusion mounted as US President Donald Trump posted on X showing Maduro wearing a grey tracksuit, as he was taken aboard a US Navy ship. Surprisingly, the tracksuit in question garnered a lot of attention, as the Nike sports casual fleece sold out online due to the viral frenzy.

The fact that there seemed to be multiple changes of clothes in one day was a head-scratching concept, but since news of Weber’s synthetic image surfaced, the skepticism has quelled.

“If an account with only 78 followers can have this kind of impact, imagine what an influencer with millions of followers is capable of,” Weber speculated.

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