On July 20, 2019, during a program of TV Obiektivi Golden Intersection (ოქროს კვეთა), the host – Valeri Kvaratskhelia presented a video that, according to the author, was prepared in the United States and was exposing the United States. The video was a fragment from a documentary that has been disseminated on the Internet with a title “Большое Американское Шоу” (A Great American Show). The video purportedly depicts a clone of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush, created via video editing, who tells the audience about American Imperialism.
How were videos fabricated until the existence of DeepFake?
The documentary shown on TV Obiektivi starring the clone of George W. Bush with his anti-American conspirations, is probably fabricated using visual effects (VFX) that have been used in the movie industry for decades. Hollywood was using computer-made optical effects already in the 70s. The technology improved in the next years and already in 2008, the creators of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button used VFX to attach an older face of Brad Pitt to a baby body.
Apparently, the clone of George W. Bush has also been created via VFX. The camera captures “the President” from afar so that the viewers cannot tell the fakeness.
In 2014, as a result of artificial intelligence development, a machine learning system – Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) was created which subsequently laid the foundation for DeepFake. It allows to apply other individuals’ head movement, facial expression, gaze, and even eye-blinking, as the picture below shows.
Seven anti-American Conspiracies by George W. Bush clone
Myth Detector presents you seven most popular myths from lots of conspiracy theories and anti-American messages voiced in the video:
1. United States brought Hitler to power
“After the World War I, we brought Hitler to power who started the World War II” – the clone of George W. Bush tells the viewers.
The story of the United States Government supporting Adolf Hitler is the favorite conspiracy theory of pro-Kremlin media outlets. According to this theory, the United States would eagerly cooperate with Hitler just to get rid of Russia. Stalin’s wit and Russia’s invincibility is often cited as a counterweight to the US-Hitler union.
2. US military carried out 9/11
In the video clip, aired on TV Obiektivi, “George W. Bush” claims that Osama Bin Laden was an imaginary enemy, the 9/11 terrorist attacks were carried out by Americans themselves, whereas a Boeing plane did not collide with Pentagon building.
This is one of the most popular conspiracy theories in the United States. Although the 9/11 Commission studied the circumstances of the terrorist attack and published a 600-page report, and the leader of Al Qaeda – Osama Bin Laden – took responsibility for the terrorist attack, the adherents of the conspiracy theory have been claiming the opposite.
Hundreds of eyewitnesses saw how an airplane collided with the Pentagon building. At least two passengers of the hijacked airplane notified their family members about the hijacking. Authors of the conspiracy theory claim that the holes found on the building were much smaller than a possible trace left by a Boeing airplane. However, the airplane lost its wings before the collision. Moreover, due to the reinforced concrete pillars of the Pentagon building, the outer part of the Pentagon building was destroyed right away. Later, parts of the airplane’s body were found on Pentagon’s lawn. You can find other conspiracies about 9/11 terrorist attacks in the earlier publications of Myth Detector.
Associated Press
3. Pearl Harbor was bombed by Americans
The clone of George W. Bush claims in the video that the Pearl-Harbor Attack was carried out by the Americans themselves who then put the blame on the Japanese.
The conspiracy theory about Americans bombing Pearl Harbor appeared soon after the tragedy. Everyone was confused with how the Japanese carried out such a widescale operation unexpectedly for everyone, including, most remarkably, Americans. Some of the conspiracy theorists accused President Roosevelt who, as they claimed, wanted to go to war so much that he deliberately provoked the Japanese and did not arm Pearl Harbor sufficiently in advance.
Although denying conspiracy theories is widely considered a waste of time among disinformation experts, there are plenty of evidences showing the causes and real facts related to Pearl Harbor.
The Japanese lost 29 fighter jets during the offensive at Pearl Harbor, with most of them crashing immediately at the scene or nearby. Some photos show Japanese Type 00 Carrier Fighters that crashed at Fort Kamehameha, close to Pearl Harbor. The carrier, with a tail code A1-154 and a red band around its rear fuselage, took off from the aircraft carrier Akagi.
This photo shows a wing of Type 97 Japanese Navy Type 97 Carrier Attack Plane (Kate) that crashed at the Pearl Harbor Naval Hospital. The plane came from the aircraft carrier Kaga.
Photo: Naval History and Heritage Command
Photo: Naval History and Heritage Command
4. Chips will be installed in humans
“Soon, every human will have a built-in chip that will be both their passport and wallet” – claims the clone of George W. Bush and cites Revelation 13:16-18 from the New Testament about “the number of the beast”.
Myth Detector wrote about this conspiracy theory in the context of the EU in 2015. TV Obiektivi, Pirveli agency, and an online-edition Georgia and the World unanimously claimed that inserting chips into newborn babies’ bodies became obligatory in the EU. In 2017, a famous Georgian astrologist Mikheil Tsagareli said in an interview with Asaval-Dasavali that in the EU, chips were inserted under humans’ skin to make them controllable zombies.
Apart from the Georgian media outlets, Russian online editions widely disseminate the given conspiracy theory, too:
5. All terrorist attacks are ordered by the USA
In the documentary, the United States is accused of carrying out all terrorist attacks in the world.
EU vs Disinfo lists all those pro-Kremlin TV companies and online editions that blame not only the United States, but Europe in carrying out terrorist attacks on their own territory and abroad.
One of the blogs, OrgoNet went even further and claimed that most of the terrorist attacks are staged, whereas the explosion in London Metro in February 2016 did not actually happen and there were actors participating in it.
6. Georgia and Ukraine are colonies of the United States
The clone of George W. Bush claims in the documentary that the United States financed revolutions in post-Soviet countries and turned them into its colonies. As a result, the Governments of Georgia and Ukraine act on the instructions of the US. “We need Georgia as a base against Iran, and Ukraine – as a base against Russia” – mentions the clone in the video.
Kremlin has been disseminating the given narrative for years with the aim of establishing an idea that the United States allegedly meddles in Georgia’s sovereignty as well as its decision-making process and ultimately rules the country. Kremlin’s message that the United States uses Georgia as a foothold against Russia also matches the video.
7. The 2008 Russo-Georgian War started following an incitement by Americans
Another anti-American message one can find in the video is the conspiracy theory about Americans allegedly inciting Georgia to start the 2008 Russo-Georgian War against Russia. “We armed one crazed Georgian President – Saakashvili – and told him to attack South Ossetia and carry out a genocide there” – claims the clone of George W. Bush.
Kremlin has been disseminating the given message for years, aiming to shift the responsibility from itself to Georgia’s strategic partner.
Origin of the video
Although the host of TV Obiektivi, Valeri Kvaratskhelia, claims that the video has been created in the United States, there is no information in open sources confirming that. Moreover, the video is only available on Russian portals and “the original” English video cannot be found. All versions retrieved by Myth Detector, are dubbed in Russian. However, a Russian transcript of the video is available on the Internet.
Who disseminates the video?
Prior to showing the video, Kvaratskhelia emphasized that all American TV channels refused to air the video. It is noteworthy that the video is available on YouTube with an upload date as early as 2010. YouTube is owned by Google, an American company.
The video shown on air at TV Obiektivi has been disseminated on YouTube for years and it is available on channels of Russian users.
Russian blogs and online editions also disseminate the video.
Prepared by Nana Rapava
