According to an “ARD” report, two Russian comedians are behind the false video calls to several mayors, including Franziska Giffey. The duo has attracted attention in the past with Kremlin-related comedy, and alleged secret service connections are reported. There are also new theories about the technology behind the calls.
According to a report by the ARD magazine “Kontraste”, a Russian comedian duo claims to be behind the fake video calls with Berlin’s governing mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) and some of her counterparts from other European capitals. “I don’t want to reveal how we did it, but it was easy,” said Alexej Stolyarow from the comedy duo “Vovan and Lexus” according to ARD information in a phone call with the “Contrasts” editors. The artist’s claim cannot be independently verified.
The duo have attracted attention in the past for pranks they played on critics of the Russian government. As early as 2015, the two comedians are said to have tried to get Ukrainian authorities to resume flight connections between Ukraine and Russia. These were discontinued after Russia annexed Crimea. Allegations have been made that they are affiliated with the Russian secret service FSB, of which Putin was director from 1998 to 1999 shortly before he entered politics.
Last Friday, Giffey spoke via video with a person who looked like Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko but was not Klitschko. After a while, because of various questions from her counterpart, she began to doubt whether she was connected to the real Mayor of Kiev. The conversation then ended prematurely. Meanwhile, it has become known that the mayors of Vienna, Madrid, Budapest and Warsaw have also been tricked in a similar way.
According to “Contrasts”, Stolyarov did not give any details on how the Russian comedy duo wants to have created the wrong Klitschko. He denied any political motive. The duo also does not work on behalf of Russian secret services.
In addition to the motive, it is unclear which technical type of manipulation was involved. In Berlin, the state security of the State Criminal Police Office is investigating. The Berlin Senate Chancellery initially announced on Friday that it appeared to be a deep fake. This involves media content that has been manipulated using artificial intelligence (AI) techniques.
In the meantime, it cannot be ruled out that another manipulation technique without AI could have been used, in which snippets of existing videos are reassembled. Such things are referred to as shallow fakes or cheap fakes. According to Contrasts, Stolyarov said, “All I can say is that it wasn’t a deep fake.”
Whether the technical question can be clarified beyond doubt is an open question. According to the Senate Chancellery, there is no recording of Giffey’s fake video call because this is not usual in confidential conversations. According to “Contrasts”, Stolyarov announced that he would publish video recordings of all talks on a Russian portal from Thursday.
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