As Ukraine war grinds on, hyperrealistic AI deepfakes depict soldiers in distress

Hyperrealistic AI-generated videos purporting to show Ukrainian soldiers surrendering are proliferating across major social platforms, in what analysts describe as a sophisticated disinformation effort aimed at undermining morale and support for Kyiv. NBC News reviewed 21 clips, many apparently produced with OpenAI’s Sora 2, some using deepfaked faces of Russian livestreamers and bearing subtle uniform anomalies; several carried obscured watermarks. OpenAI acknowledged risks of misuse and said it blocks deceptive content, while TikTok removed associated accounts and YouTube labeled or removed select videos; reposts on X and Facebook persisted. Researchers at NewsGuard say Sora can be coaxed into generating realistic falsehoods despite safeguards, highlighting the challenge platforms face as AI video advances. The surge arrives amid inconclusive peace efforts and resilient Ukrainian public backing for continued resistance, raising fresh concerns about wartime information integrity.

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