Social media users questioned Vladimir Putin’s New Year’s speech, wondering if the Russian leader’s annual address was aided by technology.
The speech is a staple of Russian holiday celebrations, and it is broadcast across the country. The president’s televised New Year’s Eve speech is a tradition begun by former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, and it is broadcast before midnight in each of Russia’s 11 time zones.
In his speech on Sunday, Putin stated that “we can solve the most difficult problems” and that “no force can separate us.” Soon after the speech, there were suggestions on the internet that his appearance was out of place.
“Apparently, the New Year greeting of Putin was AI-generated,” posted Mykhaïlo Golub on X (formerly Twitter) to his 30,000 followers next to a video of Putin with his neck circled in blue, suggesting that there was something odd about his head and the rest of his body.
Watch: Was Putin’s New Year speech CGI?
“Look at his neck) he’s not even in a suit, what’s this? Too lazy to wear a suit? Or a neural network?” wrote user RASSEL on a post shared by pro-Ukrainian Estonian user Regina Bauer. Bauer wrote that the speech “looks like…AI/greenscreen from the bunker.”
The posts appear to be a playful jab at Putin, and there is no evidence that Putin did not deliver the speech himself.
However, during his annual televised Q&A with the nation in December, the Russian president addressed an AI version of himself created by a student in St Petersburg.
The generated image and voice of Putin asked the real Russian leader if he had many doubles, as reported in the Western media, and what he thought about advances in artificial intelligence.
“You can talk me and use my voice and my pitch, but I figured that only one person could speak like myself,” the real Vladimir Putin replied, “and this is going to be me.”
Putin did not directly mention the Ukrainian conflict, but he did praise the Russian army and call for “unity” in his speech, which took place in front of the Kremlin, as opposed to last year, when he was flanked by soldiers.
Putin stated on Sunday that Russia is “firm in defending national interests, our freedom and security, and our values” and that “working for the common good has united society.” Putin has announced that he will run for re-election as president in March, an election that he is widely expected to win and could keep him in power until 2036.