On April 27, the Director of the Kyiv24 TV channel, Natalia Liashchenko, reported on the use of the image of sign language interpreter Tetiana Sadovnycha in disinformation content created with the use of artificial intelligence. Specifically, the video imitates the media worker allegedly holding up a sign reading “They lie to you” during the President’s address on the economy.
As Natalia Liashchenko told Women in Media, on the day this “broadcast” was supposedly recorded, Tetiana Sadovnycha was not on air at all, since it was an evening edition, when sign language interpretation is not provided.
The Kyiv24 TV channel also published an official statement on its YouTube channel, confirming the manipulation and refuting the authenticity of the video.
“The enemy has once again resorted to vile manipulations, using footage from our TV channel. This time, the sign language of interpreter Tetiana Sadovnycha was faked using artificial intelligence. Russian outlets are spreading a video in which she allegedly holds up a sign reading ‘They lie to you’ during the President’s address on the economy. We officially declare: this is a low-quality fake!” — Kyiv24 stated.
Natalia Liashchenko told Women in Media that the fake video was spread by the Russian Telegram channel VOBLA, which has over one million subscribers. The post accompanying the video referred to an alleged “scandal on Ukrainian TV”: the authors claimed that the sign language interpreter had “first said ‘liar’ about Zelenskyy in sign language and then held up a sign reading ‘They lie to you.’” According to them, this allegedly took place during the address by the President of Ukraine on economic achievements, after which the woman was “removed from the air.”
The fake spread by the Russian Telegram channel is built on a classic information manipulation tactic — creating the impression of internal protest or “exposure” within Ukraine’s information space. Using the image of a real sign language interpreter and the brand of a recognizable Ukrainian TV channel for this purpose is intended to make the disinformation more credible and to deepen distrust toward Ukrainian media and state institutions.
Natalia Liashchenko stressed that this is not the first time the channel’s broadcast has been used for disinformation campaigns:“Unfortunately, the broadcast of Kyiv24 has been used by the adversary more than once to spread fakes, manipulations, and information injections. This is no surprise, as we have a reputation as a trusted media outlet. Under the cover of our logo and using our broadcast, all this content looks more convincing. In addition, our satellite signal is open and is reliably received in the Russian Federation, which is probably also a source of irritation for them. So, I urge Ukrainians to develop critical thinking, verify information sources, and stay away from dubious — and especially anonymous — Telegram and YouTube channels.”
“Such cases show that AI is increasingly being used as a tool for information attacks and technology-facilitated gender-based violence. The images of real women with publicity are used for manipulations, which not only undermines trust in the media but also creates additional risks for the women journalists themselves. This is yet another example of AI being used for disinformation as part of the information war against Ukraine. The number of such videos is likely to grow in the run-up to May 9, so it is worth being especially vigilant,” notes Liza Kuzmenko, Head of Women in Media NGO.
Similar manipulations have occurred before. In May 2025, edited videos were spread on YouTube, TikTok, and the Telegram channel “Rifmy i Panchi,” falsely creating the impression that presenter Olga Butko had called Vladimir Putin the “President of Ukraine” during a national telethon broadcast.
As reported earlier, among the 119 women journalists we surveyed, one in fifteen (7%) had already encountered online attacks created using AI, and another 16% had observed such attacks against their colleagues. These findings come from the study by Women in Media and UNESCO, When Artificial Intelligence Turns Hostile: Gender Threats Against Ukrainian Women Journalists.
Women in Media continues to document cases of online violence on its Online Attacks Map, which includes a dedicated section in its incident database for attacks involving artificial intelligence.