A "provocative" video has circulated on social media featuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky performing an oriental dance remarkably well. The video has gained widespread attention on social media platforms, showing Zelensky swaying very professionally while barefoot and wearing a red dance suit. Numerous comments flooded in, with several activists affirming that it is indeed Zelensky, noting his background as an actor, while others praised the skill of the oriental dance.
However, the video, which many believed to be genuine given Zelensky's previous career as an actor and his win on the television show "Dancing with the Stars" in his country, was actually fabricated using AI technology known as Fake Deep. In the original clip, the real dancer's head was replaced with Volodymyr Zelensky's head.
This is not the first instance of manipulated videos circulating about Zelensky; other fabricated videos have also emerged, most notably featuring him in humorous performances in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Prior to his election as President of Ukraine in 2019, Zelensky was a comedic actor, leading to various old videos of him on stage or dancing. Zelensky won the television show "Dancing with the Stars" in Ukraine in 2006.
He began his artistic career in his youth, regularly participating in a comedy series broadcast on Russian television. Russian authorities removed scenes from it before banning it completely in their country. This series paved Zelensky's way into the political arena, leading him to establish his political party, named after the show (Servant of the People).
After the ousting of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, Zelensky's political star rose amidst escalating conflict with Moscow-backed separatists in Eastern Ukraine and a decline in public trust in the government. The first episode of the "Servant of the People" series was released in 2015, featuring Zelensky as "Vasyl Holoborodko," a history teacher who unexpectedly becomes president and begins a vigorous fight against corruption.
