The forged video was broadcast on the social networks of the Ukrainian TV channel. President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced his country’s surrender to Russia.
The wind of panic quickly blew away. That is what prompted this Wednesday a crudely falsified video of President Zelensky in a new phase of a communications war in which Russia and Ukraine are engaged on the sidelines of an armed struggle.
So this Wednesday, deepfake, these fake videos confusing reality, announced that Ukraine was “laying down its arms.” In this video, President Zelensky made a solemn declaration there, asking the Ukrainians to surrender!
“Dear Ukrainians! Dear defenders! Being president was not so easy. It didn’t work out. It got even worse. Much worse. There is no future. At least as far as I am concerned. And now I decide to say goodbye to you. … I advise you to lay down your arms and return to your families. You must not die in this war. I advise you to live, and I will do the same.”
A hacked Ukrainian news site reportedly uploaded a deepfake of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calling on his soldiers to lay down their arms today. @Shayan86 pic.twitter.com/tXLrYECGY4
— Mikael Thalen (@MikaelThalen) March 16, 2022
This video was posted on the social networks of the Ukraine 24 TV channel. The latter quickly announced on Facebook that its news and website had been hacked. Facebook also quickly removed the video, which went viral.
“Children’s provocation”
President Zelensky spoke of a “childish provocation.” He recalled his commitment. “I can only offer to lay down their arms to the military of the Russian Federation and let them go home. We are already at home. We are defending our land, our children, our families. And we are absolutely not going to give up. Their weapons. Until our victory.”
Even if the synthetic voice roughly mimicked the voice of the Ukrainian president, this video revives the “deepfake” discussion that will proliferate in the future. The verification tools for these videos this time have allowed to limit their virality, but we dare not imagine what could have happened if this video had lasted on the network any longer…