In the midst of Russia’s ongoing invasion, a deepfake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordering his soldiers to lay down their weapons has surfaced online.
Ukraine’s president has responded to a deepfake video of himself created by Russia in which he falsely claims Ukrainians are surrendering.
The manipulated video was published on the website of Segodnya, a Russian-language Ukrainian tabloid newspaper. During a live television broadcast from Ukraine 24, text claiming that Zelensky had ordered his troops to stand down was also displayed on a news ticker.
Segodnya blamed the attack on “enemy hackers” in an Instagram post.
“Friends, we have warned you repeatedly about this,” Segodnya wrote. “No one will give up. Especially when the Russian army has been defeated in battles with the Ukrainian army!”
Just two weeks ago, the Ukrainian government warned on Facebook that it believed Russian President Vladimir Putin would use deepfake technology to overthrow Zelensky’s government.
“His goal is to disorient, sow panic, disbelieve citizens, and incite our troops to retreat,” according to a government agency.
However, it appears that the poor quality of the video, as well as Zelenskyy’s quick response on Wednesday, have hampered the deepfake’s ability to fool its intended targets.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned the video, calling it a “childish Russian provocation.”
“I can only urge Russian soldiers to lay down their arms and return home,” he said.
