Deepfake Spreads False Claim of Bukele-US Plan to investigate Petro and Maduro
San Salvador, El Salvador – A digitally altered video falsely claiming that El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele announced a joint plan with the United States to investigate the presidents of Colombia and Venezuela is circulating widely on social media. The video, which alleges a coordinated effort to target Gustavo Petro of Colombia and Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, has been definitively identified as a “deepfake” - a fabrication created using artificial intelligence.
the manipulated video has gained traction on platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, accompanied by posts asserting that “Bukele will go after Petro and Maduro.” The clip features audio purportedly of Bukele stating, “I am pleased to announce that the Government of El Salvador and the United States are executing plans to go after Petro and Maduro, as both are related to the same crimes.”
However, a thorough investigation by world-today-news.com reveals the video to be entirely fabricated. Reverse image searches traced the original footage to a TikTok post from January 15, 2025, on President Bukele’s official account. in the original video, Bukele announced his government would cover water and