Alan Read, a theatre professor at King’s College London, usually ignored deepfakes on social media—until one day an AI-generated video used his face and voice. In it, a synthetic version of Dr Read delivered a political rant against French President Emmanuel Macron and other Western leaders, saying they were “aboard the Titanic labeled ‘European Union.’” The video bore no resemblance to his real views.
Experts warn this is part of a growing wave of Russia-linked AI videos designed to spread disinformation at scale. Chris Kremidas-Courtney, a defence analyst at the European Policy Centre, says AI has transformed online influence, enabling campaigns that are cheap, realistic, and highly persuasive.
These videos, some with hundreds of thousands of views, target EU institutions and accuse Ukraine’s government of corruption as it seeks support in its ongoing conflict with Russia. Analysts note that new AI video tools, such as OpenAI’s Sora2, have significantly increased the realism and accessibility of deepfakes, raising urgent concerns about the future of online information integrity.
