Putin deepfake video showed on hacked Russian TV and radio stations

Dimitri Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, stated on Monday that a bogus speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the evacuation of the Kursk, Belgorod, and Briansk areas, which are on the border with Ukraine, has been aired on certain media channels. Peskov said the speech was broadcast on television stations in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. because of a hack. “In certain areas, there was a security breach. To be more specific, there was a hacking attempt at Radio Mir as well as in various medias. Peskov claimed that the information had already been withdrawn and that everything was under control, adding that an investigation was already under way at the time of his explanation.

Link of the video

https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/H7WLITV8

As reported by the news agency, the first investigations into the event indicated that the video aired was a deepfake of the Russian president. A deepfake is a sort of technology that enables both the face and the voice of individuals to be changed or replaced. More specifically, the video broadcast was a deepfake of the Russian president.

In the audio portion of the tape, which was a spoof of an emergency address given by Putin, it was said that an urgent evacuation of the population was essential before to the arrival of Ukrainian forces into the aforementioned territories, and it was also reported that martial rule had been implemented in the nation as a result of this situation. The Interstate Radio and Television Company (MTRK) has also released a warning regarding the “falsification” of the message and has made it plain that the tape, as well as the material aired from 12:41 p.m. to 1:18 p.m. (local time), are “provocations.” This notice was provided in conjunction with the earlier notice about the “falsification” of the message.

The deepfake method, which is “a revolution” for digital media and is based on the generation of audiovisual materials by artificial intelligence. Another instance of this method being used inappropriately happened at the beginning of the conflict. At that time, a Ukrainian television station was hacked, and a fabricated film with President Volodymyr Zelensky pleading with his people to surrender was shown on the channel.

The fact that the Ukrainian government had earlier warned people that an event of this kind may take place was a good development, as it meant that “there was an education in the public about this matter.”