Russian President Vladimir Putin was accused of using pre-taped footage to fake televised meetings with government officials amid rumors that he is suffering from cancer, The New York Post reports.
The anti-Putin Telegram account General SVR claims that Putin’s recent televised meetings with the head of a state-owned defense conglomerate and the head of a Russian nuclear power company were pre-recorded to cover up for Putin, who is supposedly recovering from surgery this week. The Post notes that the report, which came from a Telegram account that is reportedly run by a former lieutenant general with the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, could not be verified.
The report also claims that a videoconference meeting with the Russian Security Council used a “deepfake” of Putin to avoid showing that he was “still too weak to take part in lengthy discussions.”
The Post reports that rumors that Putin is suffering from poor health have circulated for several months, with some saying that the Russian president has had a sickly appearance.
Last month, Putin was accused of not attending an Orthodox Easter service in Moscow, with social media users spreading photos and videos that they claimed used old footage of Putin to make it look like he was there when he wasn’t. However, the Associated Press and other major international news outlets confirmed that he was at the event.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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