Deepfake Videos Impersonate Lithuanian Politicians and Doctors in Cross-Border Scam Network
Highly realistic deepfake videos impersonating Lithuanian politicians and doctors circulated on Facebook in June 2025 as part of an international fraud scheme targeting 14-15 EU countries. The videos falsely promoted medical products and spread vaccine misinformation, reportedly reaching hundreds of thousands of people before Facebook removed them.
What happened
A series of AI-generated deepfake videos mimicking Lithuanian television news broadcasts and featuring fabricated interviews with politicians and doctors circulated on Facebook in June 2025. The videos impersonated MEP and former Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga promoting an eye health product and doctor Vytautas Kasiuleviฤius falsely claiming vaccines are harmful while promoting medicinal products.
Researchers at Debunk.org identified 20 such videos, described as the highest quality deepfakes detected in Lithuania to date, created using publicly available footage from social media and television. The videos were disseminated across Facebook and reached audiences in 14-15 EU countries.
Reported impact
The fraudulent videos were part of an international scam network designed to steal money from victims. Links embedded in social media posts redirected users to fake sites, with scammers exploiting anti-vaccine groups to amplify content and increase visibility.
The content reportedly reached hundreds of thousands of people across the European Union. Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre characterized the campaign as a 'new level of fraud' and warned about the growing threat posed by AI-driven disinformation.
Index analysis
The deepfakes used sensational claims about vaccine safety to attract attention, demonstrating how synthetic media can amplify misinformation by appearing as legitimate news broadcasts. The high quality of the fabrications, with errors visible only in grammatical cases and stress patterns, made them difficult to detect.
Experts noted that AI tools have evolved to the point where realistic fakes can now be produced quickly using only AI tools, prompts, and photo samples, without the extensive work previously required from designers and engineers.
Governance controls
Facebook removed the 20 identified videos from its platform. Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre, responsible for coordinating responses to disinformation, was informed of the campaign.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.