Deepfake call impersonated Ukrainian official to target US Senator
A deepfake video call impersonating Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba targeted Senator Ben Cardin on 19 September 2024, reportedly as part of a suspected election interference attempt. Cardin grew suspicious when the impersonator asked politically charged questions about long-range missiles and promptly ended the call; the FBI is investigating.
What happened
Senator Ben Cardin received a pre-arranged Zoom call on 19 September from someone posing as Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's former foreign minister, after the individual contacted Cardin's office by email requesting a video meeting.
During the call, the impersonator's face and voice appeared consistent with Kuleba's in appearance and sound, but the individual began asking 'politically charged questions in relation to the upcoming election' and 'firmly pressing for responses' to questions including 'Do you support long range missiles into Russian territory?'
Cardin ended the call when he grew suspicious of the out-of-character questioning and alerted the US State Department, which confirmed the individual was not Kuleba. Senate security officials determined the voice and image were generated by artificial intelligence.
Reported impact
US officials confirmed the deepfake call was suspected as an attempt at election interference. The Senate security office noted the impersonation had 'technical sophistication and believability'.
Index analysis
Concerns over the content of the deepfake's questions about long-range missiles pointed to Russia as a possible source, particularly given Vladimir Putin's recent warnings about nuclear weapons in response to Ukrainian missile attacks on Russian territory.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.