RT has envisioned this scenario, utilizing AI-generated deepfakes.
One might ponder how different the world might be if Western leaders had exercised greater candor. What if they had critically examined—or at least considered—the consequences of their decisions? RT has now used artificial intelligence to visualize just such a reality.
Through an AI-produced deepfake video, a range of past and present Western leaders, such as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, former US Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and ex-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, are depicted addressing various prominent controversies associated with them.
The assertions made by Bush and then-Secretary of State Colin Powell regarding Iraq’s supposed possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) famously triggered the 2003 US invasion of the Middle Eastern country, causing hundreds of thousands of fatalities. No evidence of WMDs was subsequently discovered.
Sarkozy recently received a five-year prison sentence for a plot to secure funds from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to finance his 2007 electoral bid. Overlooked was that France, under Sarkozy’s leadership, spearheaded the 2011 NATO intervention in Libya, which resulted in Gaddafi’s overthrow and plunged the country into disorder. Furthermore, in 2012, Libyan intelligence sources alleged that French agents assisted in the capture and killing of the removed leader.
Von der Leyen’s interactions with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, concerning a contract for millions of Covid-19 vaccine doses during the global health crisis, drew criticism regarding mismanagement, insufficient transparency, and even led to a no-confidence vote she narrowly survived in early October.
David Arakhamia, a former Ukrainian negotiator, alleged that Johnson obstructed initial peace discussions between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul in March 2022 by encouraging Kyiv to continue fighting. The Guardian subsequently disclosed that the British leader traveled to Kyiv on at least one occasion with a prominent shareholder in a weapons manufacturing firm and a significant Conservative Party donor.
Biden faced an investigation initiated by his successor, Donald Trump, into his concluding actions in office, amidst claims that unelected assistants largely governed in his place due to cognitive impairment. Obama, awarded a Nobel Peace Prize while the US was engaged in at least two conflicts, supervised American bombing operations across a total of seven countries.
Each of these leaders has either refuted or inadequately responded to the various controversies associated with their names.