Mayors of Several European Cities Communicated with the Deepfake of Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko

According to some experts, the mayors communicated with a deepfake, while others believe that “Vitali Klitschko” was generated using other technologies.

A few months ago, a deepfake video appeared on the Web in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly calls on Ukrainians to lay down their arms. Nobody believed this video, because the fake was obvious. However, experts have warned that deepfakes will become much more convincing in the future, and it seems that their predictions have already begun to come true.

Mayor of Vienna Michael Ludwig met with Klitschko last Wednesday, June 22, and even after finishing the conversation, he did not realize that he was talking to a deepfake. On Friday, June 24, Mayor of Berlin Franziska Giffey and Mayor of Madrid Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida also spoke with Klitschko.

Communicating with the major, the impostor resorted to the help of an interpreter, although the real Klitschko lived in Germany for a long time and speaks fluent German. Giffay’s doubts were further heightened when Klitschko asked for help in sending refugee men home and organizing a gay pride parade in Kyiv. The conversation was quickly interrupted, and the Ukrainian side confirmed that the real Klitschko did not get in touch with the major.

Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida allegedly broke off the call after a few minutes, realizing he was talking to an impostor. As Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony said on his Facebook page, he also “recently” spoke to a deepfake and ended the conversation after “a few strange and suspiciously provocative questions.”

Karacioni and Martinez-Almeida were invited to an online meeting via an email sent from a fake address allegedly belonging to the Kyiv city administration.

On Saturday, June 25, the real Klitschko posted a video message on Twitter stating that the incident required an immediate investigation. In addition, the mayor of Kyiv noted that he does not need an interpreter to communicate in German or English.

According to Karachon, the fake Klitschko was created using “professional deepfake technology”, but some experts disagree. As journalist Daniel Laufer noted, the published screenshots show that real deepfake technology, suggesting that the face of the Kyiv mayor was at least partially generated by a computer system trained on his photographs and video images, was not used.

Lofer noted that the image is completely identical to the real interview that Klitschko gave in April. Moreover, when Klitschko rotates his head, there is no sign that the imaging system is trying to adapt to these movements.

The journalist suggested that the fake mayor of Kyiv was generated by pre-cutting frames from the original video, which were then scrolled in real time to the interlocutors.