Pro-Kremlin deepfakes put surrender rhetoric in the mouths of Ukrainian lawmakers

Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels are spreading AI-generated deepfake videos of two Ukrainian lawmakers who appear to lament the war and call for peace, according to NewsGuard. The videos feature Andriy Levus, former deputy head of the Ukrainian Security Service, and Ivan Yunakov from Zelenskyy's party. Levus appears to call for peace talks, while Yunakov mourns the loss of territory. Both videos show telltale AI artifacts: unnatural blinking, flat voices, and stiff facial expressions.

FAKE VIDEO of Ivan Yunakov

The videos racked up 130,000 views in two weeks, showing once again how AI amplifies propaganda. A similar deepfake surfaced in 2022 that made President Zelenskyy appear to call for surrender, though that video was technically crude by today's standards. Many others likely go undetected.

The insidious part is that these videos always serve their purpose, whether they get debunked or not. If nobody catches them, the fake message spreads unchallenged. If someone does catch them, they still erode trust in public information and poison democratic discourse.

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