Polar bear waltz: Fake Trump-Putin AI images shroud Ukraine peace effort
These creations also highlight the challenge of policing bogus content as tech platforms offer creators monetization incentives for viral posts.
In hundreds of online posts mocking European leaders as powerless mediators snubbed by Trump, one such image purported to show French President Emmanuel Macron and other top officials waiting somberly in a White House corridor with their heads bowed.
"This is utter humiliation of these corrupt scumbags. Absolutely beautiful," said one post on X from a conservative political commentator that AFP has previously fact-checked for spreading misinformation about Ukraine.
Such posts -- in multiple languages including Greek, German and French -- gained traction as European leaders joined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House Monday for talks with Trump following the US president's summit with Putin in Alaska.
Red carpet brawl
AFP fact-checkers identified visual inconsistencies that indicate the image including Macron was AI-generated. Some of the individuals depicted in the image also do not match those seen in official photographs from the high-stakes meeting.
Macron and other European leaders represented a group of Ukraine's allies known as the "Coalition of the Willing" for White House consultations.
But multiple pro-Kremlin sources sharing the AI-generated image ridiculed them as the "coalition of those in waiting."
The image was also amplified by sites operated by the Pravda network, a well-resourced Moscow-based operation known to circulate pro-Russian narratives globally, the disinformation watchdog NewsGuard said in a report.
The falsehood was an illustration of how "pro-Kremlin sources often seize on high-profile meetings involving European leaders to spread false claims," NewsGuard said.
In other viral posts, an AI-generated clip purported to show Trump and Putin skidding down snow-covered slopes, eating ice-cream beside a snowman, and waltzing with a polar bear to country music.
And in another AI video, Trump and Putin were depicted brawling on a red carpet leading from an airplane staircase, trading punches and kicks as secret service agents idle in the background.
The tongue-in-cheek posts offer a window into a social media landscape increasingly filled with AI-generated memes, videos and images competing for attention with -- and sometimes drowning out -- authentic content.
As tech platforms scale back content moderation, AI videos spread rapidly, muddying the waters around serious diplomatic efforts to end the three-year war in Ukraine.
Trump on Tuesday ruled out sending American troops to back up any Ukraine peace deal but suggested air support instead, as European nations began hashing out security guarantees ahead of a potential Russia summit.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
US ramps up attack on international court over Israel
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also targeted a Canadian judge in a separate case in his latest volley of sanctions against the tribunal in The Hague, which is backed by virtually all other Western democracies as a court of last resort. "The Court is a national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare against the United States and our close ally Israel," Rubio said in a statement, using a term popular with President Donald Trump's supporters. He attacked the court for investigating US and Israeli citizens "without the consent of either nation." Among the four people newly slapped with sanctions was Judge Nicolas Guillou of France, who is presiding over a case in which an arrest warrant was issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. France -- whose president, Emmanuel Macron, was in Washington two days earlier -- expressed "dismay" over the action. The sanctions are "in contradiction to the principle of an independent judiciary," a foreign ministry spokesman said in Paris. The ICC in its own statement denounced the "flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution." The court's prosecution alleges Netanyahu is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel's offensive in Gaza including by intentionally targeting civilians and using starvation as a method of war. Netanyahu saluted Rubio for his "decisive act against a smear campaign of lies against the State of Israel" and the Israeli army. Israel launched the massive offensive in response to an unprecedented attack by Hamas against Israel in which mostly civilians were killed. The ICC has also sought the arrest of former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, who has since been confirmed killed by Israel. Guillou is a veteran jurist who previously participated in trials over Kosovo and Lebanon. He worked for several years in the United States assisting the Justice Department with judicial cooperation during Barack Obama's presidency. Under the sanctions, he will be refused entry to the United States and any assets he has in the world's largest economy will be blocked -- measures more often taken against US adversaries than citizens of friendly nations. Defending Israel, exempting Putin Also targeted by the latest US sanctions was a Canadian judge, Kimberly Prost, who was involved in a case that authorized an investigation into alleged crimes committed during the war in Afghanistan, including by US forces. Rubio also slapped sanctions on two deputy prosecutors -- Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal. The State Department said the two were punished by the United States for supporting "illegitimate ICC actions against Israel," including by supporting the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant. Rubio imposed sanctions on four other ICC judges in June. The Trump administration has roundly rejected the authority of the court, which was set up as a court of last resort when national systems do not allow for justice. Trump on Friday welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to Alaska even though Putin faces an ICC arrest warrant, a factor that has stopped him from traveling more widely since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine. The United States, Russia and Israel are among the nations that reject the ICC. Previous president Joe Biden's administration also opposed its action against Israel but withdrew previous sanctions and was open to narrow cooperation with the ICC, including in gathering evidence in Ukraine.
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
‘Today it's paper, tomorrow it's nothing': the perils of security guarantees for Ukraine
Ukraine and its Western allies have said the specifics of a post-war security agreement are expected to be finalised in the next few days. Such security guarantees have long been considered key to maintaining a post-war peace in Ukraine. The UK and France gathered a mostly European 'coalition of the willing' in March as a potential peacekeeping force, but many worried it would lack effectiveness without robust US support. In an apparent breakthrough following Monday's gathering of European and NATO leaders at the White House, US President Donald Trump suggested potential security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a future peace deal with Russia. 'When it comes to security, there's going to be a lot of help,' he said alongside Zelensky in the Oval Office, while noting that European countries would take the lead. 'They are a first line of defence because they're there. But we'll help them out.' In a subsequent interview with Fox News, Trump said US help would probably take the form of air support. Following a much-anticipated meeting between Trump and US President Vladimir Putin last Friday in Alaska, Trump's Russia envoy Steve Witkoff said the US might consider offering Ukraine ' Article-5-like protection ', a reference to NATO's principle of collective defence, in which an attack on one is considered an attack on all. Witkoff added that Russia had agreed to the proposal, calling it 'game-changing'. Zelensky said on Tuesday that 'we are already working on the concrete content of the security guarantees', a process he said will continue at full speed in the upcoming weeks. Mykhailo Samus, a defence and politics analyst from Kyiv, spoke to FRANCE 24 about the security guarantees Ukraine might receive following a peace agreement ending the war with Russia. But with the failure of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum still vivid in the minds of many Ukrainians, he also advocates building a strong Ukrainian army that is fully integrated in the European defence system. FRANCE 24: What will 'security guarantees' for Ukraine most likely mean in practice? We (Ukraine) have a long history of security guarantees, which started with the Budapest Memorandum in 1994 (a non-aggression pact cosigned by the US, the UK and Russia in return for Ukraine surrendering the nuclear weapons it inherited from the USSR). We don't believe in paper guarantees. We need a strong Ukrainian defence industry which is totally integrated into the European defence structure. That's why we should base Ukrainian security on deterrence, like deterrence against aggression against the Baltic states or an invasion of Moldova. A joint approach means a European security system including Ukraine. Some might think this could mean French boots on the ground. Of course we don't need it, because we have one of the strongest armies in the world. Instead, we need help integrating Ukrainian forces in the European defence system. This means providing Ukraine with long-range capacities: ballistic missiles, cruise missiles. European forces should provide us with the equipment with the joint understanding that we are using the equipment to protect us and them. FRANCE 24: Why is the prospect of European boots on the ground unlikely to ensure peace in Ukraine? It shouldn't be forgotten that Russia is imperialistic; it only cares about Ukraine as an extension of its empire. It sounds impossible in the 21st century, but Putin lives in this paradigm. If they want to live in an empire, then we should be strong enough to [stand up to] the empire. Sending several thousand troops to Ukrainian territory is not the solution. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had an interesting idea during the talks at the White House to provide security guarantees modelled on NATO's Article 5 (the principle of collective defence, in which an attack on one is considered an attack on all). Yet this will be impossible to implement. The next Russian aggression towards Ukraine will get the same reaction – or non-reaction – from Western allies. We had a bad experience with the Budapest Memorandum. The United Kingdom signed it, and the United States signed it. These countries guaranteed the territorial sovereignty of Ukraine. But when Russia attacked Crimea, nothing happened. FRANCE 24: Why do you advocate for a defence-industry approach to supporting Kyiv? Joint capacities are easier to formulate and build upon. I think for now we can talk about a defence-industry approach with elements that will support Ukraine: monitoring, intelligence, the training of Ukrainian armed forces, support with ammunition and elements to keep Russia out of the front line. If the US doesn't want to sell us certain technologies, we should be able to develop them ourselves. European defence security policy is mostly Europe focusing on defence. The Ukrainian approach is the same as Europe's, yet we need to create modern, breakthrough technologies like long-range ballistic missiles. No country in Europe is building these and we need them. We also need joint capacities in missile defence – missile defence should be joint because it's impossible for one country to build them on its own. There needs to be a multi-layer European defence system. In Ukraine, we have attacks by [Iranian-made] Shahed drones every night. We need to build a common system. It would be a disaster if a Shahed drone hit Estonia, for example, and the same should apply to Ukraine. We have several layers [of defence] in Ukraine: drone interception, helicopters, fighter jets – all of these layers function together. Since Russia is a nuclear power, we should have a joint European nuclear doctrine. France and the United Kingdom have nuclear capacities; how to share these resources is something to be considered. When Putin talks about 'demilitarisation', it's so that he can take advantage. With a strong army in Ukraine, Putin won't be able to attack again. Without this – even with all the guarantees and all the paper in the world – Ukraine won't be safe. FRANCE 24: What would the US role be in a Ukrainian security guarantee? Europe doesn't have ballistic missiles and it depends on the US – this is a big problem. Europe depends on the F-16 fighter jets. We shouldn't depend on the moods of US President Donald Trump; he might say, 'You can have F-16s today' and tomorrow he could change his mind. The US is an important provider but not the main provider. That's why there should be a joint approach [involving] both the armed forces and the defence industry. When we are talking about security guarantees, and especially boots on the ground, Trump doesn't want to participate in this – so NATO can't participate. Trump is trying to divide us. There is an ocean between the US and Russia, while between Europe and Russia there is nothing. If we imagine that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky sign a peace agreement, the next step is how to [enforce] it. There will be complex mechanisms at work. For example, Putin will likely propose China as a peacekeeper, while rejecting any NATO forces on the ground in Ukraine. There are going to be many additional discussions. FRANCE 24: Ukraine obviously feels betrayed after the Budapest Memorandum failed to ensure its security. What other precedents are there for Russia breaking agreements? All the time. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, there was the 1997 Russian-Ukrainian Friendship Treaty. There were security guarantees of Russia respecting borders and the sovereignty of Ukraine. We had a lot of agreements involving the Black Sea. Everything was destroyed by Russia. When someone says we should sign a treaty with Russia, we say, 'Guys, go home.' Today it's paper; tomorrow it's nothing.
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
US hits ICC with more sanctions, targets French judge involved in Netanyahu arrest warrant
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on four more International Criminal Court judges or prosecutors, including from allies France and Canada, in a new effort to hobble the tribunal particularly over actions against Israel. 'The Court is a national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare against the United States and our close ally Israel,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, using a term popular with President Donald Trump 's supporters. Rubio said that the four people targeted from the tribunal based in The Hague had sought to investigate or prosecute nationals from the United States or Israel 'without the consent of either nation". The four include Judge Nicolas Guillou of France, who is presiding over a case in which an arrest warrant was issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The case was brought forward by the State of Palestine, which is not recognised by Washington but, unlike Israel or the United States, has acceded to the statute that set up the tribunal in The Hague. Guillou, a veteran jurist, had worked for several years in the United States assisting the Justice Department with judicial cooperation during Barack Obama's presidency. Also targeted in the latest US sanctions was a Canadian judge, Kimberly Prost, who was involved in a case that authorized an investigation into alleged crimes committed during the war in Afghanistan, including by US forces. Under the sanctions, the United States will bar entry of the ICC judges to the United States and block any property they have in the world's largest economy – measures more often taken against US adversaries than individuals from close allies. US hits ICC judges with sanctions over investigation into Israel 01:52 Rubio also slapped sanctions on two deputy prosecutors – Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal. The State Department said the two were punished by the United States for supporting 'illegitimate ICC actions against Israel", including by supporting the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. The Trump administration has roundly rejected the authority of the court, which is backed by almost all European democracies and was set up as a court of last resort when national systems do not allow for justice. Trump on Friday welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to Alaska even though Putin faces an ICC arrest warrant, a factor that has stopped him from traveling more widely since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine. Rubio slapped sanctions on four other ICC judges in June.
