Russian President Vladimir Putin participated in an unusual and somewhat comedic event during his 'direct line' session last Thursday. The session, a four-hour marathon where Putin answered questions from journalists and the Russian public, took an unexpected turn, challenging the perception of the Russian leader's sense of humor.
The event unfolded amidst a peculiar silence from the audience, which quickly evolved into laughter.
In a surprising twist, President Putin found himself being interviewed by none other than... Vladimir Putin. This humorous scenario was a result of a clever setup involving a university student and advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The student, disguised as Putin's 'double', was made to look and sound like the Russian president, thanks to AI's ability to alter appearances and voices.
This incident comes against the backdrop of widespread media speculation over the past year about Putin having not just one, but several 'body doubles'. These rumors, however, have never been confirmed, with the Kremlin repeatedly denying such claims. Nevertheless, the Russian public chose to make light of these rumors during Putin's 'direct line', introducing a second Putin on screen.
The 'fake' Putin, with the help of AI, posed a question to the real president, asking if it was true that he had “many twins". This query set off bursts of laughter among the attendees. It remains unclear whether President Putin was aware of this stunt before the start of the interview.
Read more from Putin's 'direct line' below.
