Overview
- One of the most-viewed posts came from the X account Wall Street Apes, and Elon Musk reshared the clip before deleting it as views topped 5.6 million.
- BBC and AFP fact-checkers traced an early version to TikTok’s @curiousmindusa, which regularly posts AI content, and X added a community note stating the video is AI-generated.
- Additional false visuals included AI images of Nicolás Maduro in U.S. custody that circulated before the Trump administration released an authentic photo.
- Platform responses vary, with TikTok and Meta using detection and labels while X leans on community notes, and Instagram chief Adam Mosseri says fingerprinting verified real media may be more practical than spotting fakes.
- Separate from the online fakes, exiled Venezuelans held real celebrations abroad as roughly 2,000 Maduro supporters rallied in Caracas, and Maduro and Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty in New York on Jan. 5.