Video Exhibits Zelenskyy's Stomach Dancing Efficiency?

In late September 2024, a video spread on social media, allegedly exhibiting the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, performing a stomach dance. “Zelensky pulling out all of the stops to get the final bit of cash earlier than Trump is elected,” one X person captioned the video (archived), reaching over 3 million views.

(X person @TaraBull808)

The video additionally spread in late February 2024, with one X post captioning it, “I can not consider this man has walked away with billions of our tax {dollars}.” One other X person captioned the video in February 2024: “What occurs each time we give Zelenskyy extra money.”

One other X put up with the video shared in 2023 read: “Zelensky has actually come a good distance, from entertainer and dancer to a worldwide movie star now being promoted by the military-industrial advanced as billions of {dollars} are launched within the identify of the American folks.”

Google and Yandex (a Russian search engine) reverse-image search outcomes confirmed the video was shared by numerous Russian-language accounts. (Ukraine and Russia have been at warfare since Russian forces invaded the nation in February 2022.)

(X person @unhealthytruth)

Nevertheless, this isn’t an genuine video of Volodymyr Zelenskyy performing a stomach dance. The unique video, published on June 1, 2023, confirmed Pablo Acosta, a dancer from Argentina.

Once we in contrast the “Zelenskyy” video to the one printed on the @pabloacostabellydance Instagram account, it grew to become clear that the viral footage had been digitally manipulated to superimpose Zelenskyy’s face on Acosta’s physique. Subsequently, we charge this video as pretend.

(X person @unhealthytruth and Instagram account @pabloacostabellydance)

Though the in-question video didn’t present Zelenskyy, however somewhat an Argentinean, stomach dancing, footage of the Ukrainian president dancing may be discovered on-line. Zelenskyy, earlier than turning into the president of Ukraine, was an actor and comic, and in 2006 won the Ukrainian model of “Dancing With the Stars,” a dance competitors tv collection.

This isn’t the primary time we have now fact-checked deepfake photos and movies associated to Zelenskyy or the Ukraine Conflict. 

In March 2022, a poorly executed deepfake video of Zelenskyy asking civilians to put down their arms to the Russian army was extensively shared on social media. The identical month, we fact-checked a deepfake video exhibiting Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly saying the tip of Russia’s warfare with Ukraine. If you wish to learn extra about deepfakes and the way to detect them, take a look at our 2021 assortment of digitally edited videos.

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