Fact Check: Deepfake video shared as Putin’s double fighting on Ukraine frontline

New Delhi, Oct 14: Amidst the ongoing war in Ukraine, a video on the social media is in circulation which appears to show Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking to a person behind the camera while wearing a Russian soldier uniform.

The video has been viewed over 80,000 times after it had been posted on October 12 on Twitter.

The video was posted with the caption, 'Putin's double in the army. AFY, if you take him prisoner do not celebrate it. It is not him.'

Many have debated whether the video was a deepfake alteration of the footage. Others have questioned if Putin himself or a look-alike may have popped up on the frontline of Ukraine.

In the video the recruit is asked in Russian, why the 83rd brigade is so underfed. The soldier then says in a fairly convincing impression of Putin's voice, 'you know Sergey, I have addressed this issue before and will say it again. If we only look at the 83rd brigade, we are not seeing the full picture across the Russian Airborne forces.

If one looks very closely at the video the line where Putin's facial features were clearly overlaid and it is clear that this is a poor quality deepfake. Moreover the soldiers' physical features and frame do not match that of Putin.

OneIndia also found the original video in which the real person talking can be seen in it. This deepfake video had also been posted on Facebook on January 19 2021 indicating that it has been in circulation before the Ukraine war.

Hence it becomes clear that the video in circulation is fake and has been circulation much before the war broke out in Ukraine.