In 2022, several European politicians will fall for calls from a fake Klitschko. With the help of a false Poroshenko, the responsible Russian comedian duo is now said to have taken the former chancellor for a ride. Merkel's office confirms a conversation with the alleged ex-president of Ukraine.
According to the Russian trolls Vovan and Lexus, who specialize in disinformation, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel fell for a staged phone call about the Ukraine conflict. The interviewers close to the Kremlin published excerpts from it. Merkel's office in Berlin confirmed that there was a telephone conversation. "I can confirm a phone call with a caller who posed as former (Ukrainian) President Petro Poroshenko," said a spokeswoman for Merkel.
The Russians, with the stage names Vovan and Lexus, have repeatedly fooled celebrities by posing as false names. "The phone call took place on January 12, 2023, supported by a German-Ukrainian translation by the Foreign Office's language service," Merkel's office said in a statement. "The former Chancellor then informed the Federal Foreign Office about the impression she had gained from the caller during the call."
During her tenure, Merkel often dealt with Poroshenko. The 57-year-old was the predecessor of current President Volodymyr Zelenskyj from 2014 to 2019.
Using deep-fake technology, Vovan and Lexus impersonated Vitali Klitschko in video calls to several European politicians last year. Realistic-looking media content that has been manipulated using artificial intelligence techniques is called a deep fake. Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey initially fell for the fake Klitschko. Among other things, Madrid, Vienna and Budapest were also affected.
