A poorly edited video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly surrendering to Russian demands was widely ridiculed on Wednesday, but experts say it could be a haven for more sophisticated deception. The video shows a gray-haired Zelensky speaking from a presidential lecture urging his countrymen to lay down their arms in the face of Russian aggression.
It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. Internet users immediately pointed out the differences between Zelensky’s neck and facial skin tone, the strange accent in the video, and the pixelation around his head. A Facebook official later said the company was removing the footage from its platform.
1 / Earlier today, our parties identified and removed a Deepfake video claiming that President Zelensky had issued a statement he never made. It appeared on a so-called compromised website and then began appearing across the Internet
– Nathaniel Glitcher (lengleicher) March 16, 2022
Nina Shik, author of “Dipfex”, says the video looks like a “terrifying FaceApp”, referring to programs that can digitally graft one’s face into another’s body – part of a broader family of computer techniques that can create hyperrealistic fraud. Known as “Deepfax”.
The television station Ukraine24 said in a Facebook post that the video was broadcast by “enemy hackers” and was “fake! Fake!” The station was not immediately available for comment, and Ukraine’s cyber watchdog did not immediately return a request for comment. But later the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Release A video of the original Zelensky apparently dismissed the footage as “childish provocation”.
“We will not keep any weapons until we have won,” he said.
Ukrainian officials are warning of the dangers of Dipfek, especially after Moscow’s forces denied a quick victory on the battlefield following their February 24 attack.
Two weeks ago, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency A. Short video Warns the country of the dangers of Dipfek, accusing the Kremlin of preparing for a stunt.
The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately return a request for comment.
Shik Jalen called the video “very crude”, but warned that it was a matter of time before the technology became more accessible.
“Hopefully, it will be easier to produce such nets as they look very authentic,” he said.
Thomson Reuters 2022