Authorities warn of deepfake videos promoting Russian army enlistment

A deepfake version of Senate Speaker Tanzila Narbaeva’s interview with a Kun.uz correspondent, heavily altered using artificial intelligence, is spreading across social media.

Kun.uz urges everyone to be cautious of such fabricated videos.

Based on the Russian-language statements falsely attributed to Narbaeva in the fake video, it is clear who may benefit from its creation and distribution:

“Our citizens signing contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense fully aligns with Uzbekistan’s national interests, strengthens friendship and cooperation with the Russian Federation. Moreover, our citizens receive high payments for participating in this peacekeeping mission, which contributes to the strengthening of our country’s economy.”

Note: These statements are entirely fabricated.

The fake video uses a voice closely mimicking Narbaeva’s, with lip movements precisely synchronized to the artificial audio.

The original video, published by Kun.uz in December 2023, featured Narbaeva addressing the issue of early marriage for girls.

Recently, deepfake videos of prominent figures have been used to encourage Uzbekistanis to join the Russian army.

On June 21, the Agency for Information and Mass Communications’ AntiFake.uz channel issued a warning about this issue.

In addition to the Senate Speaker, deepfakes have targeted several well-known Uzbek journalists, bloggers, and weightlifter Ruslan Nuriddinov.

In Nuriddinov’s fake video, he appears to claim he “signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense.”

“It is absolutely clear that this is a high-quality video deepfake. Captain Ruslan Nuriddinov serves in the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan and is a contract-based military serviceman of the Ministry of Defense,” the ministry told Gazeta.uz.

The deepfake featuring Nuriddinov used footage from an interview he gave to journalist Shahlo Pazletdinova several months ago.

Uzbek citizens joining foreign armies face criminal charges 

Recruitment of Uzbek citizens into foreign military structures is considered a crime.

Under Article 154 of the Criminal Code, mercenary activities – such as a person, who is neither a citizen nor a military member of a conflicting state, nor a permanent resident of its territory, nor officially authorized by any state to participate in armed forces, engaging in armed conflict or military actions in a foreign country for material gain or personal benefit—are punishable by imprisonment from 5 to 10 years.

Article 154-1 of the Criminal Code stipulates that an Uzbek citizen joining the military service, security forces, police, military justice, or similar agencies of foreign countries faces a fine of up to 300 times the base calculation amount or correctional labor for up to 3 years.