Russian Deepfake Falsely Claims Ukraine Ban on Women's Travel
Russian Telegram channels spread a deepfake video falsely depicting Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna proposing a ban on women aged 18-27 from traveling abroad. Ukraine's Centre for Countering Disinformation confirmed the video was AI-generated and that no such proposal or parliamentary support exists.
What happened
Russian Telegram channels distributed a deepfake video falsely depicting Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna proposing to ban women aged 18-27 from traveling abroad. The posts claimed the Verkhovna Rada had endorsed this proposal.
The Centre for Countering Disinformation confirmed the video was artificially generated using deepfake technology and that Stefanishyna had not made such a statement. No legislative initiatives for such a ban exist in parliament.
Reported impact
The Centre for Countering Disinformation stated the aim of such false information was to discredit government representatives and spread panic in Ukrainian society.
Index analysis
Russia conducts an active disinformation campaign against Ukraine using multiple methods including fabricated documents, staged videos, and fake news.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.