The Russian army’s positions in Kherson were reported to be under tension this week, with Moscow rejecting its own statements about the “regrouping” of forces in Ukraine’s southern region, published through official news agencies, additional details.
Analysis in the latest update from the Institute for the Study of War suggests that the situation in Kherson Oblast remains “very ambiguous,” with Ukrainian forces conducting “larger-than-usual operations on the eastern (left) bank of Kherson Oblast. “
Amid a move that appears to show Russian troops could be in trouble, a clip has been shared online suggesting that Vladimir Putin’s best friend and Russian state TV host Vladimir Solovyov has said it’s “time to take most of the road” in the region.
A post on X, formerly Twitter, via user @Reevesity, published on November 14, 2023 and viewed more than 114,900 times, included what appeared to be a video of Russia-1 presenter Vladimir Solovyov saying on television: “A few words about the left bank of the Dnieper.
“It looks like we’re going to make a tactical retreat,” he said.
“I would even say a planned regrouping. In short, it’s time to get out of here. “
The message reads: “Soloviev on the left bank, you see how much it hurts him to say it ?. “
The Facts
Solovyov is a loyal best friend of President Vladimir Putin and is known for his questionable pro-Russia comments. Just this week, he threatened “Berlin is going to burn!”after German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Germany would not only continue to supply aid to Ukraine through the winter, although Berlin also planned to see its best friend “massively expanded for next year. “
Last month, he made headlines for his warning of a new global war between the West and Muslims around the world.
User @Reevesity, who posted the video, told Newsweek that they “don’t believe it’s real. “A follow-up posted on Nov. 14 read: “Not one hundred percent of this. Although I discovered it recent and real, I can’t believe that a single channel had posted this video and two other people had said it was fake in some way.
“Keep open on this one ??”
Therefore, the chances of Soloviev making defeatist comments about the setbacks reported across Russia in Kherson seem slim. While earlier this week official news agencies announced the withdrawal of Moscow troops from a key position in Kherson, citing the Kremlin, they later retracted their data. and he apologized.
Research into the video shared on X also supports the concept that Soloviev made the comments he allegedly did.
First, the movement of Soloviev’s lips in the video seems to fit with the audio, the clip doesn’t sound like Soloviev or a TV studio recording. The presenter’s presentation, Night with Vladimir Soloviev, is filmed in a giant news studio that echoes the voices of its presenter. and guests. Excerpts from other broadcasts show that Soloviev speaks in a deeper voice, which is reflected in the length of the study.
By comparison, the vocals in X’s video are high-pitched and flat, as if they were recorded in a booth or small room. While his mouth movement would have possibly been altered, perhaps through AI, it doesn’t seem like the same attention was paid to the audio.
Tracing Solovyov’s original video was more difficult, due to the sheer amount of footage of him, most of which are in front of the same background, with him in the same outfit. Soloviev doesn’t make any unique gestures in the shared clip on X. to help differentiate the images.
However, a frame from the video appears to have been used to inform earlier reports of a Russian “regroupment” in Kherson. At least two articles published in Ukrainian news UNIAN, predating the Russian movement in Kherson, come with a photo of Solovyov that appears to have been captured from the X-video.
In the video, about 3 seconds later, Soloviev looks at the ground and pushes his tongue to the right of his mouth, just like in the UNIAN photos. This movement also corresponds to the position of the text and background graphics.
It is unlikely that Soloviev was sworn in at the broadcast. In 2014, Putin signed a law banning any oaths in the arts and media, adding television, as reported through the BBC, The Guardian and RadioFreeEurope. The arrival of the ban was covered by Russian state media RT.
Finally, the X clip ends with a logo for CapCut, an AI-based video editing tool, most commonly used on TikTok. While this is not evidence on its own, combined with other inconsistencies, it does recommend that the X clip be edited or altered, if only to include fake subtitles.
Given the video’s improbability, poor editing, and other inconsistencies, the video is almost fake.
The Decision
FALSE.
Newsweek’s investigation makes it clear that the video is fake. The likelihood that Soloviev, a longtime Putin supporter, will make defeatist statements about the Russian military on state television is slim.
The sound of Soloviev’s voice and the background sound of the clip strongly suggest that it has been altered. The clip includes profanity that was banned in Russian arts and media about a decade ago. Footage from the video also appears to have been used in news reports from months ago.
FACT-CHECKING BY Newsweek’s fact-checking team
Updated 11/17/23 at 10:05 a. m. This article was updated with a comment on the video poster.
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