Middle East Crisis: Viral Video Of King Charles’ Comments On Donald Trump, Iran Is AI Manipulated

Video shows King Charles calling out US President Donald Trump over the recent attack on Iran. 

In the viral clip, the British Monarch is purportedly  heard saying, “When Donald Trump says Iran can be erased. When generals whisper of bunker busters and tactical firepower, and when Israel’s skies glow with the sparks of retaliation, I do not stay silent. I will not let the world be dragged into chaos by those who speak louder than they think. Mr. Trump, this is not a game of missiles. This is the fate of millions…”

Such posts can be seen here, here and here.

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A keyword search for “King Charles,” “Donald Trump” and “Iran” on Google did not yield any credible report/ official releases carrying the alleged statement by the British monarch on the Middle East conflict. 

We, however, found an article by Royal Insider, a news portal that covers the British Royal Family, stating, “A video on social media appearing to show King Charles making a statement on the recent developments about Iran in a speech, have duped royal fans…However, as the monarch, Charles rarely makes political statements, as members of the royal family – especially the king – must be politically neutral, so the Iran ‘statement’ or speech, is not real.”

On carefully analysing the viral footage, we noticed that King Charles lip movements did not match with the audio heard in the clip, raising our doubts. 

Newschecker then looked up a section on the viral clip on AI detection platform Hive Moderation which found an overall 99.8% likelihood of the media containing AI generated or deepfake content. 

Also Read: Old, AI-Generated Photos Falsely Shared As Aftermath Of Iranian Attack On US Air Base In Qatar

We also checked multiple segments from the audio featured in the viral clip on Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector which found them to be “likely deepfake.” Similarly, another AI audio detection website Resemble.ai termed the voice as “fake.” 

Continuing our investigation to find the actual video, we searched keywords “King Charles,” “address” and “people” on Google which threw up a YouTube video by ‘The Royal Family Channel,’ dated September 9, 2022, stating, “The King has made his first address to the nation and Commonwealth following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.”

After comparing the frames of the viral clip with the YouTube video by ‘The Royal Family Channel,’ we could conclude that the footage allegedly showing King Charles commenting on the Middle East crisis was taken from his same address. However, the lighting/exposure in the clip seems to have been edited.  

Also Read: Viral Video Claiming To Show Israelis Rallying For Peace With Iran Is AI-Generated

Hence, we find the viral clip, allegedly showing King Charles’ comments on Donald Trump and Iran, has been modified using artificial intelligence. The British Monarch has not made any such remarks about the recent Middle East crisis.

Sources
Hive Moderation Website
Resemble.ai Website
Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector
YouTube Video By The Royal Family Channel, Dated September 9, 2022