Social media users are sharing a video that appears to show European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other Western leaders admitting damning allegations that damaged their tenure in office.
The video also features former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former US Presidents George W Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
It's often shared with identical captions asking: "Have you ever wished Western leaders were a little more honest?" a sweeping statement that points to a sign of misinformation.
"Did I help bomb Libya and kill Gaddafi to bury evidence that he financed my presidential campaign?" says the image of Sarkozy in the video.
"Did I promote COVID vaccines because I put together a $35 billion injection in a secret deal with Pfizer?" The likeness of von der Leyen then said.
Although the voices seem quite accurate, in reality the video was generated by AI, as evidenced by the leaders' strange features and stilted speech.
It was produced by the state-controlled Russian news network Russia Today, as seen in the outlet's logo in the upper right corner of the video and outro, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
RT provides a disclaimer near the end of the video explaining that it is "AI-generated parody content."
Nonetheless, RT was banned in the EU, UK and other countries after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, in a bid to combat disinformation.
The topics discussed by the AI-generated leaders in the video are controversial issues dating back to their tenure.
For example, Sarkozy's image calls into question the unsubstantiated claim that he helped bomb Libya and kill Muammar Gaddafi to bury evidence that he financed his election campaign.
Former French president was jailed last week for criminal conspiracy linked to a scheme aimed at obtaining Libyan financing during his 2007 campaign. He is appealing his conviction.
AI-von der Leyen speaks of the so-called Pfizergate affairin which the Commission President allegedly personally struck a deal with Pfizer to promote the company's vaccines during the COVID pandemic, bypassing formal purchasing processes. She denies any wrongdoing.
Boris Johnson's image, meanwhile, suggests he sabotaged a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine when they had a deal "on the table."
A false narrative spread by the Kremlin suggests that the EU and European countries in general are opposed to peace in Ukraine and want to prolong the war. In fact, European leaders have consistently supported peace efforts and say they seek a lasting peace that respects Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territory.
In February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky strongly rejected allegations that Johnson derailed a possible peace deal in spring 2022, as Russian sources, including President Vladimir Putin himself, have claimed.
"There have been several approaches with ultimatums [from Russia to end the war] and I never gave my approval," Zelensky said. reportedly said in an interview with The Guardian in February. "This doesn't fit logic; what was he [Johnson] supposed to dissuade us? "
Johnson also called the allegations Russian propaganda.
RT video comes as the quality and complexity of AI-generated videos accelerate.
In October, Sora 2 technology created by OpenAI, the same company that founded Chat GPT, was launched in Canada and the United States, but is not officially available in Europe.
Although The Cube was unable to identify what technology was used to create these videos, following the launch of Soraan influx of high-quality AI videos featuring celebrities has emerged on social media.