Russian propagandists have produced a staged video in an attempt to discredit Ukrainian defenders
Russian media, Telegram channels, and bots on social media platforms X and TikTok are circulating a video allegedly showing a wounded Ukrainian soldier. An unidentified voice off-camera claims that as a result of “friendly fire,” “three are KIA (killed in action), one is WIA (wounded in action).” At the end of the video, a man in military uniform asks, “How can we fight this war if there’s no coordination at all?” and adds, “Listen and think,” implying that joining the army is supposedly not worthwhile.
This video is fake. The Russians staged the scene themselves, and the face of the “soldier” speaking in the video was overlaid using deepfake technology. This is confirmed by the Deepfake-o-meter application, which analyzes data from various AI tools that detect deepfakes.
According to AltFreezing, a tool that examines video segments for file compression — which indicates editing using graphic software — 45% of the video was modified using AI.
DSP-FWA, a tool specifically designed to analyze facial alterations, determined that the video is 98% likely to be a deepfake.
Tools such as Tall and Xlip indicate that the video is artificially generated by 71% and 82%, respectively.
It is worth noting that the source of the deepfake is a TikTok account under the username “genic281.” This account is a bot that disseminates Russian deepfakes featuring alleged Ukrainian soldiers. Three out of the five videos posted on the channel show signs of deepfake technology.
In one of the videos, a man’s eyes are disproportionately large and continue to grow in size. They also appear cartoonish and drawn.
In another clip, a man wearing a black helmet has a completely static face throughout the entire video.
It is important to note that the “friendly fire” video has since been deleted from the account and is no longer available on the “genic281” channel.
Russian propagandists created this fake in order to discredit service in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and disrupt the mobilization process in Ukraine.
Earlier, Russian propaganda spread a fake claim about the “death” in the Kursk region of 5,000 “foreign” mercenaries allegedly serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Andriy Olenin
Source: Russian propaganda spreads deepfake on TikTok about 'friendly fire' in Ukrainian Armed Forces
