A video appearing to show White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre talking about the relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine during World War II has gone viral on multiple social media platforms and Russian websites.
In the video, The Independent’s White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg appears to ask Jean-Pierre, “Why aren’t we condemning Ukrainian manifestations of Nazism, and continuing to sponsor it?”
Jean-Pierre appears to reply, “79 years ago, the United States and our Ukrainian allies joined forces to combat the oppressive regimes of Hitler and Stalin. While Berlin is now an ally, the threat from the East persists. That’s why we are committed to stand by Ukraine, and offering our full support in any way we can.”
The video has hundreds of thousands of views and has been shared across X, Facebook and in pro-Russian channels on messaging app Telegram. The video also appears on Russian website Pravda.
While some social posts appeared to criticize Jean-Pierre and the White House by calling her a "clown", one X user actually wondered if she misspoke.
THE QUESTION
Did White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre say the U.S. and Ukraine fought together in World War II?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre didn’t say the U.S. and Ukraine fought together in World War II. The audio from a press conference was replaced with fake audio.
WHAT WE FOUND
There was a press briefing held on May 7, but the audio in the entire viral video clip is fake. The audio was likely generated by an artificial intelligence program.
The viral video is made up of two clips from the official White House video of the press briefing. We confirmed the visuals are from the May 7th press briefing by comparing the edited video with the fake audio and the original White House video from the briefing.
In both videos, The Independent’s correspondent Andrew Feinberg is holding the same pen while surrounded by the same people. Jean-Pierre, in both videos, is also making the same gestures behind the podium and wearing the same outfit.
One clear indication that the audio in the viral video is fake is that the sound doesn’t match Feinberg’s lip movements.
In the real briefing, Feinberg is asking about the White House’s plan to encourage Israel to allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip. In the video with the fake audio, his comments about Gaza were replaced with the question about Ukraine.
Jean-Pierre, in the real briefing, was talking about how President Joe Biden was looking forward to hosting Romanian President Klaus Iohannis later that day at the White House. Iohannis was at the White House on May 7 to celebrate Romania’s 20th anniversary as a member of the NATO Alliance. Those statements were replaced with the fake response about Ukraine.
When Russia first invaded Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the invasion was a mission to "demilitarize and denazify" the country. That narrative has been used since then in disinformation campaigns and in pro-Russian propaganda.
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