A video shared on TikTok purports to show a Sky News broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin appearing to discuss “Black Jesus.”

@teamgospelfamilykenya #blackjesus #thegospelfamilykenya #gospelfamilyforlife #kenyantiktok#russian #russia🇷🇺 #russiantunes #russianicon #american #america ♬ original sound – Cooper

Verdict: False

The claim is false, as the audio is generated with artificial intelligence (AI). In the original video from Sky News, Putin delivers his annual address to Russia’s Parliament and never makes the purported remark. Additionally, a media forensics and AI expert confirmed the audio is not authentic in an email to Check Your Fact.

Fact Check:

Putin blamed “radical Islamists” for a Mar. 22 attack on the Crocus City concert hall that killed almost 140 people, according to USA Today. Four attackers opened fire on fans who had gathered “to see the Soviet-era rock band Picnic” at the Moscow-based concert hall, the outlet reported.

The TikTok video, which has garnered nearly 100,000 likes, purports to show a Sky News broadcast of Putin appearing to discuss “Black Jesus.” “This Black Jesus whose lightness in history has been unveiled in the oldest vault is a message to us all that divinity knows no color, that spiritual truth transcends race and that our common humanity binds us more tightly than our differences divides us,” he appears to say in part.

The claim is false, as the audio is generated with AI. In the original video from Sky News, Putin delivers his annual address to Russia’s Parliament and never makes the purported remark. Likewise, a Feb. 29 article from Reuters highlighting key moments of the speech does not reference the purported “Black Jesus” remark attributed to Putin. Instead, the article indicates Putin spoke about Russia’s economy and the country’s war with Ukraine, among other topics.

In addition, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to support the claim. Actually, the opposite is true. Lead Stories also reported the audio included in the TikTok video has been generated with AI via a Mar. 25 article. Furthermore, the Kremlin has not publicly commented on the claim. (RELATED: Did Charlie Hebdo Cover Call Brigitte Macron Transgender?)

Dr. Walter Scheirer, a media forensics and AI expert at the University of Notre Dame, confirmed the audio included in the TikTok video is not authentic in an email to Check Your Fact.