A fake audio recording of Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis talking to his Palestinian counterpart on the phone and saying that he will run for president next May is circulating online.
Debunk.org, a disinformation analysis centre, has told BNS that the recording was generated using artificial intelligence tools. Its authenticity has also been denied by the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.
In the fake audio, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki “asks” for Lithuanian support for Palestinians living in Gaza and for a humanitarian pause in Israeli attacks.
Landsbergis “replies” that he cannot support Palestine because his move would draw opposition in Lithuania and raise eyebrows in the EU.
“I won’t do this just because you asked me to. Especially given that I intend to run in next year's Lithuanian presidential elections,” the AI-generated voice of Landsbergis says in the fake audio recording.
The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry says the audio recording “does not correspond to reality”.
“Minister Landsbergis has not spoken on the phone with the Palestinian minister this year. The Foreign Ministry considers the information disseminated to be an information attack,” it said in a comment.
Viktoras Daukšas, head of Debunk.org, noted that the recording is being circulated via recently created social media accounts that were previously inactive.
“In terms of risk, this is a very dangerous phenomenon, especially given the upcoming elections. In the context of elections, such manipulations can cause a lot of uproar,” he said.
Lithuania is scheduled to hold the next presidential election in May 2024.
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