Russia is behind fake claims of U.S. music stars Jared Leto and Billie Eilish planning concerts in Crimea, Ukraine’s state news agency has reported.
Ukrinform said a video purportedly showing Leto announcing plans to “hit up Russia” and throw “a hell of a concert” on the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014 is a deepfake.
The news agency reported that the image of Leto has unnatural facial movements and mysterious wrinkles on its forehead which suddenly vanish.
Ukrinform added that the fake Leto said the concert would mark the "anniversary of reunification" between Crimea and Russia.
Leto is an actor who also fronts rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars. The group’s website lists tour dates for Europe with no mention of concerts in either Russia or Crimea.
There is also no official online listing of a concert there by American pop star Billy Eilish. An “announcement” of such a gig accompanied the apparent Leto post on social media.
Ukrinform said propagandists had used video editing software to create a fake Instagram post that appeared to show Eilish’s producer announcing the concert.
Eilish has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022 and has been involved in charity drives for the embattled country.
Leto, meanwhile, caused controversy last year when comments he made on stage in Belgrade about “feeling the Russian energy” were interpreted by Kyiv as trivializing the war.
