NewsRussian Propaganda's AI-generated lies on Ukrainian General debunked

Russian Propaganda's AI‑generated lies on Ukrainian General debunked

Russian propaganda knows no bounds. Recently, it spread false information that the head of Ukrainian intelligence HUR, General Kyrylo Budanov, supposedly died in a Russian missile attack, and later claimed that he was captured. Both pieces of information are, of course, false, and it turned out that AI helped to generate them.

Russian propaganda in action. It utilises artificial intelligence.
Russian propaganda in action. It utilises artificial intelligence.
Images source: © Getty Images | VALENTYNA POLISHCHUK

As reported by kyivpost.com, at the end of last week, Russian media began to publish videos in which the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Kyrylo Budanov, was allegedly captured by Russia after an earlier report that the officer had died in a missile attack.

"After a large-scale Russian missile attack on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF) at the beginning of last week, Russian media reported that General Budanov died in the attack," emphasizes the mentioned source.
Later, the propaganda changed its theory, claiming that the Russian army allegedly captured Budanov. A photo of the officer in captivity was even shown, which turned out to be a fake.
An investigation verifying information disseminated by Russian media revealed that the video material was reused from a fake video distributed in the autumn of last year, in which artificial intelligence (AI) technology utilized images of Budanov's face on a computer-generated body.

Ukrainian official debunks Russian propaganda

The spokesperson for the HUR, Andriy Yosov, denied that Kyrylo Budanov was in captivity last week, stating that the general has been in his office, working since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. It was a dirty trick by the Russians, which no one bought. The entire mystification stank of deception from the beginning.

"Russian propaganda is experiencing a genre crisis and is in the grips of its own lies, and Kyrylo Budanov continues to effectively lead the intelligence of Ukrainian defence and destroy Russian occupiers," emphasizes Yosov.

Russian media had previously spread false videos depicting Ukrainian officials, also generated using AI technology and publicly available photos. On November 7th last year, the Kremlin distributed a fake video with a supposed statement from Valerii Zaluzhnyi, then Chief Commander of the AFU.

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