Manipulated videos designed to look like someone said or did something they did not — known as deepfakes — havetargeted politicians for years. With higher stakes amid Russia's war in Ukraine, however, such videos could have a swift and devastating impact on those directly involved in the conflict.
DW Fact Check takes a look at some of the recentdeepfakes that circulated on social media amid the conflict.
Deepfake of Putin
This deepfake of Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared on Twitter in March. The manipulated video of Putin was shared on social media with many describing it as showing Putin urgingRussian soldiers to lay down their weapons and go home. But DW's Russia service revealsthat this is not what the fake audio says.
In the deepfake, the manipulated audio says: "Negotiations with the Ukrainian side have just started. And they were successful for the Russian side. I will inform you shortly. So, we have reached peace with Ukraine. With Ukraine in its world-recognized borders with Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts (territories). We have agreed that we will set up a large foundation together with the USA and the EU for the restoration of infrastructure in these Ukrainian regions. We also signed a five-year roadmap on restoring Crimea's independence as a republic within Ukraine. In the negotiations, I was guided by one principle: to preserve peace and the lives of the Slavic peoples. Russian language in Ukraine will remain —and there will be no oppression, just like the oppression of the Russian population. It is clearly written in peace agreements."
In reality, Putinnever said this. As is the case with previous deepfake videos of other people, these audio and mouth movements were manipulated through the use ofartificial intelligence programs.
This deepfake appears to have been made by using an authentic video of Putin giving a national address from the Kremlin released on February 21 afterRussia recognized the independence of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.
Deepfake targets Zelenskyy
A manipulated video depicting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy circulated on social media in March thatappears to showthe Ukrainian leader telling his soldiers to lay down their arms and surrender to Russia.Its message was also posted to the website of broadcaster Ukraine 24 — but the news outletsoon after posted a statement saying it was hacked and removedthe article.
Zelenskyy, who has consistently rallied allies to aid Ukraine in the fight against Russia,never made the statement.
When the deepfake video was flagged as a fake it was quickly removed from social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (an exception appears to be made for posts that explicitly state it is a deepfake to raise awareness).
In the video, Zelenskyy's lips appear to be moving,but when looking closely,the head is in a static position throughout the 1-minute clip and his jawline is not defined. Ukrainian viewers also pointed out that Zelenskyy's accent was off and that his voice did not appear authentic.
Zelenskyy addressed the deepfake on his official social accounts with a video statement.
In his statement, Zelenskyy said: "If I can offer someone to lay down their arms, it's the Russian military. Go home. Because we're home. We are defending our land, our children & our families."
Mock attack tostir emotions
Another form of manipulated content has also gone viral on social media: mock videos. One viral video was produced with special effects to illustrate what an attack on Paris would look like. The aim was to warn nearby European countries that Russia had to be stopped now in Ukraine before they, too, were attacked.
The mock video starts with a woman posing next tothe Eiffel Tower, and then multiple explosions strike iconic buildings nearby, includingfrom several angles. Later shots include the sound of shocked people speaking in French and the sound of air raid sirens as fighter jets fly over. White text then appears: "Just think if this were to happen in another European capital."
The video ends with a written quote from Zelenskyy: "We will fight till the end. Giving us a chance to live. Close the sky over Ukraine, or give us air fighters. If we fall, you fall."
"Close the sky" is a phrase often used by Zelenskyy when urging the European Unionand NATO allies to close airspace with a no-fly zone over Ukraine in a bid to deter Russia from launching further attacks by air.
The video was shared by multiple Ukrainian official social mediaaccounts, like that ofOleksandr Merezhko,the chair of the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Committee, with the words: "We also thought that it could never happen." It was also posted on the Twitter accountof Ukraine's Defense Ministryon March 12 and, the night before, the video was posted by theUkrainian parliament and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.
A week later, the video is still being shared on social media, especially after Zelenskyy’s speech at the US Congress as well as the German parliament. Always with the same message: "Close the skies."
Russian mediawere quick to point out that the video is a clear fake — but some went further, such asin the Telegramgroup called for "War on Fakes,"claiming thatUkrainian authorities deliberately created thefake video using computer graphics to urge Europe to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
But this is contradicted by the man who says he created the video. He posted it on Facebookbefore the Ukraine parliament shared the video.
In interviews with the French newspaper Le Monde and broadcaster RTL, Ukrainian filmmaker Olias Barco said he was not ordered by the Ukrainian authorities to create the video."It's something I wanted to do myself, with producer Jean-Charles Levy, to give the West a shock," he said to Le Monde. "For me, we are in the Third World War, and this conflict is going to become more widespread. This is an anticipation filmnot a propaganda film."
DW was not able to independently verify Barco's account.
Many Ukrainians on social media have referenced a Russian TV interview to support their stancethat Moscow would not stop at Ukraine and would seek to gain control of other European countries. In this video, Duma memberOleg Matveychevwas a gueston a segment on Russia 1 talking about the conflictinUkraine, "The most important thing: There is no way we can stop halfway. Like leaving Lviv or something like that. Otherwise, we shouldn’t even have started it."The presenter of the show then goes even further by saying: "I say more. With such sanctions — who said that you have to stop at the borders of Ukraine at all."
How do I spot a deepfake?
The sophisticated manipulation of videos makes it increasingly harder to detect — but there are signs that clue you in on what is a deepfake. DW Fact Check has published a guide here.
Edited by: Stephanie Burnett
