Deepfake video of Volodymyr Zelensky surrendering surfaces on social media

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A “deepfake” video of the Ukrainian president telling his people to lay down their weapons is circulating online.

The clip shows what looks to be Volodymyr Zelensky standing at a podium in a green sweatshirt.

He says he has decided to return the eastern region of Donbas to Russia, that his army has “failed”, and that Ukrainians should surrender, Sky News reports.

“It turned out to be not so easy being the president,” he says, before concluding: “My advice to you is to lay down arms and return to your families. It is not worth it dying in this war. My advice to you is to live. I am going to do the same.”

However, the video is a so-called “deepfake”, in which computer technology is used to manipulate images or videos to produce fabricated content.

The most prominent telltale sign that the clip has been digitally created is that Mr Zelensky’s head is too big for the body.

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