‘Tik-Tok’ War Gets Its First Deepfake

Altered videos take propaganda to the next level

An image from the deepfake of President Volodymyr Zelensky ordering Ukraine to surrender. (YouTube screengrab.)

So it finally happened. The Russia-Ukraine War has its first deepfake. The recently released video shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky telling his fellow citizens to throw down their weapons and surrender to Russia. According to Euronews, the video was viewed 120,000 times on Twitter. But it was quickly debunked by Zelensky on Instagram.

“This is the first deepfake that we’ve seen used in an intentional and broadly deceptive way,” said Sam Gregory, programme director at Witness, a human rights and technology group, according to Euronews.

In case you didn’t know, a deepfake is a video that has been manipulated by artificial intelligence. (Deepfake technology can also create photos that never happened and alter audio.) The danger is you can make anyone say anything. And to the untrained eye, they look authentic.

Deepfakes are fake news on steroids

Deepfakes, 21st-Century Propaganda