Deepfake video shows Putin discussing democracy in English
The video is AI-generated
CLAIM: A video has been shared by social media users, purportedly showing Russian President Vladimir Putin talking about democracy in the US, in English.
RATING: The video is AI-generated, known as deepfake. It was an ad created in 2020, and part of a campaign to raise awareness about the fragility of democracy.
BACKGROUND
A video began circulating on social media showing Russian President Vladimir Putin warning Americans about foreign interference with their elections.
“America, you blame me for interfering with your democracy, but I don’t have to. You’re doing it to yourselves. Polling stations are closing. You don’t know who to trust. You are divided. There are strings we can pull, but we don’t have to. You are pulling them for us.”
The video was first shared by an Instagram user, showing a split screen video in which a man reacts to Putin’s statement in English. It was captioned: “truth”
The video has also been shared by other social media users. Here and here.
METHOD
Vladimir Putin has rarely spoken publicly in any language other than Russian. However a Google search brings up a rare video of him speaking in English. The 2013 speech was covered by reliable news sources. Here. Putin’s voice in the 2013 video is different from the voice in the recent video which raises a red flag.
Searching for Putin’s quote that was heard in the recent video on Google brings us to an article published two years ago about deepfake videos depicting world leaders, including North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Putin. Here.
The article takes us to the original video which was created in September 2020 by anti-corruption organisation, RepresentUs, to “to illustrate how easy it is to collapse democracy”, according to their press release.
RATING
The video is generated by artificial intelligence. It is a deepfake video depicting Vladimir Putin.
SOURCES
Instagram.com. (2023). TURBAN X on Instagram: ‘Truth!’ [online] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrGkUHUL7_y/?img_index=1 [Accessed 20 Apr. 2023].
RepresentUs (2020). Dictators – Vladimir Putin. YouTube. Available at: Link [Accessed 20 Apr. 2023].
NBCNews.com (2013). In a rare move, Putin speaks English. [online] NBC News. Available at: https://www.nbcnews.com/video/in-a-rare-move-putin-speaks-english-33253443909 [Accessed 20 Apr. 2023].
komrovie (2020). Deepfake Videos Featuring Kim Jong Un, Putin Go Viral Before US Local Networks Ban Them – Opera News. [online] Opera.news. Available at: https://ng.opera.news/ng/en/politics/41a0ec6470fbd38ee30b62a3888b406a [Accessed 20 Apr. 2023].
RepresentUs. (2023). First Ever Use of Deepfake Technology in a Major Ad Campaign. [online] Available at: https://act.represent.us/sign/deepfake-release/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2023].