Mocking French and Ukrainian Presidents with Altered and Manipulated Videos
The initial video of Macron allegedly depicts him dancing with young nightclub-goers in an 80s style. This manipulated version of the dancing people clip was digitally altered to include the face of the French President. The clip showing Ukrainian President Zelenskyy dancing in an exotic dress was also altered with deep fake technology, which Truthmeter has already covered that event
The initial video of Macron allegedly depicts him dancing with young nightclub-goers in an 80s style. This manipulated version of the dancing people clip was digitally altered to include the face of the French President. The clip showing Ukrainian President Zelenskyy dancing in an exotic dress was also altered with deep fake technology, which Truthmeter has already covered that event
We are fact-checking a post on Facebook, sharing videos of, allegedly, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dancing together – Macron with 80s styling, while Zelenskyy wearing an exotic red dress.
The strategic partners of SDS DUI DPMNE, specifies the post.
The videos are manipulated deepfakes.
The first video supposedly shows Macron dancing with young people and nightclub-goers, with aesthetics typical of the 80s. Macron is shown with different stylings, including female impersonation, with a woman’s hairdo, makeup, jewelry, and dresses.
Nevertheless, the video was manipulated, featuring young night club-goers flaunting different dance moves to 80s synthpop to include the face of French President, specify the fact-checkers from Reuters.
The YouTube channel of Stratus Dance Club in California released the non-edited videos in July 2009, and several clips showed the same people dancing in 1986 and 1987, as specified in the caption of the videos.
Stratus was SoCal’s preeminent alcohol-free, under 21 dance club, states the caption of the channel that included several other clips of the young dancers.
The counterculture blog ‘Dangerous Minds’, also shared the clip in 2016, describing Stratus Dance Club as a “mesmerizing and awesome” Californian new wave synthpop club.
The second video in the Facebook post allegedly shows Ukrainian President Zelenskyy dancing in a red exotic dress — that video is also altered with deepfake technology. Truthmeter has already covered this video.
This and many other videos fact-checked by Truthmeter are part of the narrative mocking the Ukrainian President as incapable of his working post.
Among the reasons why Zelenskyy is targeted with such videos, especially those related to dancing, is because before becoming president, he was a comedian and part of show business. He was one of the participants of the show “Dancing with the Stars” (in 2006), and he also recorded a satirical video where he first appeared dancing in traditional Cossack attire, ripping it off, and continued dancing in high heels and tight leather clothes – similar to Beyonce’s hit song “Single Ladies”. So, if someone sees him dancing in actual videos, he/she will easily believe its authenticity when manipulative clips such as this one are spread on social media.
All of the above-noted leads to the conclusion that the videos were altered and manipulated to mock the French and Ukrainian Presidents. Therefore, the post is assessed as untrue.
All comments and remarks regarding this and other Vistinomer articles, correction and clarification requests as well as suggestions for fact-checking politicians’ statements and political parties’ promises can be submitted by using this form