FACT CHECK: Post Claims To Show Alexei Navalny’s Mother Accusing His Wife

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

A post shared on Facebook claims to show deceased Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s mother accusing his wife of taking advantage of his death.

Verdict: False

The voice in the video is made from artificial intelligence. There is no evidence Navalny’s mother made this accusation.

Fact Check:

A funeral for Navalny in Moscow, Russia drew thousands of mourners, following his death last month while in prison, according to USA Today. Russian authorities have claimed Navalny died of “sudden death syndrome,” the outlet reported. Ukraine’s head of military intelligence says that Navalny died of natural causes, per Hromadske.

Social media users are claiming that a video shows audio of Navalny’s mother accusing Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexi Navalny, of taking advantage of his death. (RELATED: Houthi Rebels Claim To Hit U.S. Warship In Red Sea)

“Navalny’s mother says: His wife did not see Navalny for 2 years-She forced him to go to Russia- She made him transfer all his property in her name- She appears with other men in public – Is shamelessly profiting on his death,” one user wrote.

The video, though, has been fabricated. Fact-checking Lead Stories reported that it ran the voice through DeepFake-O-Meter, a tool that can detect if a voice was artificially generated. The tool determined that it was generated by artificial intelligence, according to the outlet.

There has been no media coverage of the alleged remarks made by Navalny’s mother, either. CNN reported that a video showed her mourning her son’s death but did not mention any accusations against Navalnaya.

The alleged remarks were first published and spread on Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels, according to Lead Stories.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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