A deepfake video of Volodymyr Zelenskyy circulates on social networks and this is what you need to know

Wars in 2022 are not just fought on the battlefield. The messages transmitted through social networks and the media are a fundamental part of military tactics today. As expected, messages and communications abound that are not true. The most recent hoax attempt is a video showing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy , asking the population to lay down their arms. The deepfake video began to spread on various social networks this Wednesday and in it Zelenskyy can be heard saying the following:

“Dear Ukrainians. Dear defenders. Being president was not so easy. I have to make tough decisions. I have decided to return to Donbas. It’s time to look into the eyes. It didn’t work. It only got worse. Much worse. There is no more tomorrow. At least for me. And now I decide to say goodbye to you. I advise you to lay down your weapons and return to your families. You shouldn’t die in this war. I advise you to live; I am going to do the same” .

As if that were not enough, the Ukrainian news channel Ukraine 24 was hacked to broadcast the video with the alleged call for surrender. The channel immediately posted a statement on its social media profiles assuring that the video was false.

Shortly after, Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself spoke in a video that was uploaded to the television station’s social networks, explaining that neither he nor Ukraine had surrendered.

In previous days, the Department of Defense and Intelligence of Ukraine had already warned about the possibility of false videos of the president appearing on the network. So far no one has claimed responsibility for the creation of the video or for the hacking of the television station.

WHAT ARE DEEPFAKE VIDEO?

They are fake videos in which a person’s voice and face are manipulated using artificial intelligence software to appear authentic. Also known as genuine fakes, these videos can be used to mislead or convey messages that are not true. Deepfakes are based on sophisticated algorithms to generate fake images of a real person that are then superimposed on a video or audio recording to pretend they are real. There are two types of deepfakes : deepfaces (based on the image of a face) or deepvoices (based on voice).

Given the great potential they have for disinformation, deepfakes are prohibited on some social networks such as Facebook.