On June 22, 2022, Vienna’s Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) declared on Twitter that he had spoken to the Mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko. The situation in Ukraine was discussed in a video conference. Klitschko announced a few days later that there had been no talks with Ludwig. In a video, he spoke of a “fake Klitschko” and advised sticking to official channels for official talks. He also made it clear that no translator was needed for conversations in German or English.
To the real video with the fake mayor
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Ludwig admitted to having been deceived during the video conversation. The tweet about the alleged conversation with Klitschko was deleted, an archived version can still be found on the Internet.
Ludwig’s statements in the video that has now appeared correspond to the content of the conversation he mentioned in the tweet. He sometimes seems irritated by the bizarre questions, but always answers plausibly in relation to his professional role.
Authenticity of Rutube video
The fact that some features in the video can also be seen in Ludwig’s Twitter photo speaks for the authenticity of the Rutube material. At the top left of the screen you can see the blue background with the City of Vienna logos, in front of which Ludwig is sitting. In addition, the two flags to the right of the mayor and the coat of arms of the City of Vienna are clearly visible in front of him. In the Twitter photo you can see the computer camera above the screen, the angle of which matches Ludwig’s video clip. The fact that the fake Klitschko speaks English also fits in with the real Klitschko’s advice that he doesn’t need a translator for German.
There is no evidence that the actual video material of the video conference was manipulated apart from the compilation. Although this is difficult to assess given the existing video and audio quality and delayed microphone activation, no inconsistencies are noticeable.
The mayor’s facial expressions and gestures appear authentic even when he moves sideways. In the oral cavity, you can regularly see the tongue and teeth during speech movements – a detail that many deepfakes still have problems with. There are also no graphic or acoustic irregularities. This also applies to the credible dialect and voice.
The image material can also be considered authentic due to the channels chosen for publication. The Ludwig video was released on August 9th alongside Rutube on Youtube and Reddit. On all these channels there are further deceptions by well-known politicians and celebrities. In addition to Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski and Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony, writers Stephen King and Joanne K. Rowling also became famous targets for pro-Russian comedians.
Although the videos of the latter were published several weeks ago, there have been no objections from those affected that the footage is inauthentic. People have usually admitted to being misled.
Elton John “phoned” Putin
In 2015, Vovan and Lexus had previously deceived British pop star Elton John, 10, by impersonating Vladimir Putin on a phone call allegedly wanting to discuss gay rights. Other targets were the American ex-president George W. Bush, Prince Harry or Justin Trudeau.
According to the Russian news agency TASS, the pro-Russian duo was honored for their actions at the first Russian awards for internet contributions in June 2022. They were presented with the prize by Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry. According to their own statements, the duo would never direct any of their actions against Russian President Vladimir Putin or their own country.
A spokesman for Ludwig told APA on Tuesday that the video was a “very clear compilation”. The conversation lasted longer than the ten-minute video. No statement can be made as to whether the recording had otherwise been manipulated. The material will be examined in more detail.
Source: Nachrichten
