An AI-generated clip showing former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton endorsing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for president has been shared on social media as if it were real. There is no evidence that Clinton made such an endorsement.
Clinton can be partially heard in the clip saying (here), “People may be surprised when I say this, but the truth is, I love Ron DeSantis. Yeah, I know. I think he’s exactly who this country needs.” If Ron DeSantis becomes president, I’ll be fine with that.”
The graphic below includes the MSNBC logo and a chiron that reads “Hillary Clinton Endorses DeSantis”.
Social media posts shared screenshots of the clip (tinyurl.com/ydu7y5j8), (tinyurl.com/muwatne3), with some commenting questioning its authenticity and others taking it seriously. I accept it.
However, there is no evidence that Clinton made these statements. No credible media outlet reported such support (tinyurl.com/38jf2syz).
A spokesperson for MSNBC told Reuters this was not a clip they aired.
In the comments below the original tweet, user @Ramble_Rants (here) said he created the video with the help of another user @C3PMeme. Those handles are also included in the graphic at the bottom of the video.
@Ramble_Rants frequently posts memes involving celebrities, while @C3PMeme shares synthetic media and alters video clips online (here). In one post @C3PMeme calls the Clinton video a #deepfake (here).
Other signs that the video was AI-generated are Clinton’s tone of voice and the phrase “Hail Hydra” she uses towards the end of the clip. This is a clear reference to the far-right organization in Marvel’s “Captain America.”
Dr. Dominic Leeds, an associate professor of filmmaking at the University of Reading, told Reuters by email that two tell-tale signs that the video is a deepfake are that the lips are out of sync with the audio, and that “the accuracy of the image of the teeth. is low,” he said.
Clinton can be seen wearing the same outfit and jewelry in an interview with MSNBC in December 2021, where she talks about former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party (here).
The Clinton Foundation did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
verdict
synthetic media. This video was generated by his AI and there is no evidence that Clinton endorsed Ron DeSantis for president.
This article was produced by Reuters fact-checking team. You can read more about the fact-checking process here.
