Fake video: Stefanchuk allegedly promised heating only to families whose husbands have “paid their debt to Ukraine”
A fake video is being spread on social media in which the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk, allegedly says that in winter, due to gas and electricity shortages, heating will be provided only to families whose husbands have “paid their debt to Ukraine.”
This was flagged by fact-checkers from the VoxCheck project.
In reality, this is a deepfake. Stefanchuk never made such statements. The video was created using artificial intelligence.
A reverse image search on Google showed that the video was actively distributed by pro-Russian resources. No original video featuring Stefanchuk against this background could be found.
A check using the Deepware service confirmed that the video was generated by a neural network.
Signs that the video was generated by AI include:
- blurred teeth;
- a mismatch between facial expressions and the audio track;
- the “plasticine face” effect – facial muscle movements appear overly soft and unnatural.
The fake portrays Ukraine’s leadership (including the parliamentary speaker) as cynical and indifferent to people. This fuels the narrative that a “Kyiv junta is mocking its own population”, which is then echoed in Russian media and in occupied territories.
The fake also preemptively “explains” future blackouts by suggesting that “it’s not us bombing – it’s your own government punishing you for evading mobilization”. In this way, responsibility is shifted from the aggressor to the victim.