The Presidency of Moldova on Friday denied statements attributed to President Maia Sandu in a new deepfake video made with the help of artificial intelligence, AI.
"In the context of the hybrid war against Moldova and its democratic leadership, the image of the head of state was used by falsifying the image and sound. The purpose of these fake images is to create mistrust and division in society, consequently to weaken the democratic institutions of Moldova," a press release said.
The video made with the help of artificial intelligence appeared on Friday on the Telegram channel "Sandu Oficial" and was shared by several Telegram channels used to spread fakes, especially to Russian-speaking audiences.
Sandu is presented in the video as speaking ironically about the standard of living of Moldovan citizens.
The authors of the video refer to the philanthropist George Soros and the United States as "sponsors" of the pro-European leadership of Moldova, one of the central theses of Russian disinformation in Moldova.
The video appeared just before the traditional New Year's speech that the President will deliver on December 31 at the turn of the year.
Over the last year, deep fake technology has been used extensively by pages affiliated with the fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, who the authorities claim is working under the coordination of Moscow. Such posts with deep fake videos are also sponsored on anonymous Facebook pages.
Moldova has not yet taken steps through legislation or any national strategy on the use or on monitoring the use of OpenAI whose indiscriminate use raises concerns about privacy, transparency and the potential for unintended consequences, according to international experts.
On November 3, two days before local elections, several Facebook pages published two other deep fake videos featuring Sandu. She was falsely presented announcing her resignation and urging people to vote for a party affiliated with Shor.
In October 2022, two Russian "prankers", known for making fake calls to public personalities, published a new video from a show they had prepared, in which they talked to Sandu, pretending to be the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denis Shmygal, about a possible general mobilization of the Moldovan army in case the Ukraine war extends to Moldova.
The Presidency denied the authenticity of statements attributed to Sandu in her alleged discussion with Shmygal.
The Chisinau authorities have repeatedly asked Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Telegram to take a stand against paid posts with links to the fugitive Shor who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in April and is hiding in Israel.
In March, Prime Minister Dorin Recean, together with six other counterparts from European countries, signed an open letter to the big companies in the IT field in which they requested action against disinformation and manipulation on social networks, which "undermine peace and stability throughout Europe".
Moldova continues to be a key target for Russian propaganda against the backdrop of a massive Russian informational attack on the state's pro-European leadership, in the regional context of the invasion of Ukraine.