An AI-generated video has been widely shared on social media, falsely alleging that Ukraine is a dictatorship promoting “Russophobic” propaganda. The video shows a Ukrainian TV ad that supposedly encourages youths to report family members showing interest in Russian culture.
The advert, attributed to the Ukrainian children’s channel PLUSPLUS, features a cartoon boy reporting his sister to the authorities when she listens to the Russian song “Sigma Boy” by US President Donald Trump. The video urges viewers to denounce anyone with similar interests by contacting the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
Despite its widespread sharing, including by Russian-language news outlets, the video’s claims are false. No official sources have endorsed the video, which exists only as a recording of a TV screen and displays several signs of being AI-generated, such as the boy’s anatomy and shifting hairstyles.
PLUSPLUS has dismissed the video’s authenticity, highlighting graphical errors and accusing Russian agitators of creating this misinformation to destabilize Ukraine and tarnish its international image.
The video is just one of many instances of disinformation campaigns by pro-Russian actors since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. These campaigns aim to discredit Ukraine, justify the war, and promote a false narrative of “Russophobia” in Ukraine and Europe.
The song “Sigma Boy,” by Russian bloggers Betsy and Maria Yankovskaya, has been critiqued for possibly promoting harmful concepts like toxic masculinity. However, these critiques, including statements from a German MEP and Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, have been dismissed by Russia as examples of Europe’s “madness” and “clinical Russophobia.” Despite these claims, the song remains popular and there has been little concrete action taken against it in European countries.
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