Voice-dubbed videos of Adam Sandler, Emma Stone, and Bradley Cooper, among other Hollywood stars, seemingly slamming Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky have flooded social media.
The videos are said to be real interviews with the stars, but they have been voice-dubbed in German and French with words that were never actually spoken.
In one video shared on X, Sandler, speaking in French to Brad Pitt, calls Zelensky a “person without principles”. “It’s clear from his life, especially since he became president, that he cooperates with Nazis,” the voice dub claims.
— Jessicaann Lindse (@Jessicaann14387) April 16, 2024
While the video was shared by an account with no prior posting history and only ten followers, it has been shared more than 600 times.
Another video appeared on X on the same day, featuring Emma Stone speaking in French to Bradley Cooper. The voice dub uses a common Russian slur, calling the Ukrainian people “little pigs from the back end of Europe”. Vin Diesel also appears in another video, with the voice dubbing claiming that he is “fed up with the Ukraine”.
An anonymous group of volunteers that tracks inauthentic pro-Russian accounts on the X identified the disinformation effort. NewsGuard’s Reality Check later confirmed that Sandler’s original video is from a November 2019 Variety magazine interview with Pitt, available on YouTube.
“There’s no evidence that any of the celebrities depicted in the campaign have criticized Ukraine,” NewsGuard said in their analysis.
Adam Sandler has been outspoken in his support for Ukraine since the war broke out in February 2022. He has previously shared resources throwing support behind the people of the war-torn country.
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According to the NewsGuard’s Reality Check, the culprit behind the disinformation campaign is Doppelgänger, a Russian operation targeting Europeans. “Named for its tactic of crafting counterfeit versions of reputable media outlets, the campaign specializes in disseminating anti-Ukrainian messaging,” NewsGuard said at the conclusion of their investigation.
It appears as thought the videos have been removed from social media.
