Rumors and rumors have spread like wildfire following the disappearance of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu two weeks ago. Everything from a heart attack to convictions and failures has been cited as a possible explanation for the mystery.
No one has seen him in public since March 11. Before now – or?
It does not have to be simple. After a clip of a digital meeting between Putin and his close circle on Thursday, speculation about the presence of the defense minister and the situation could lead to even more outrage if possible. The big question is whether the clip really shows Sjojgu.
Speculation abounds: – Neither Putin nor anyone else
Dress code
Russian headlines One of the mentors of the Thursday night clip. Avisa reports that a black background is seen at the beginning of the video conference clip. After a few seconds, Sjo appeared the same way.
Many people have asked the question of whether this clip was actually a previous post, which was edited in the post from the meeting. Among other things, it is pointed out that the Minister of Defense was in uniform from the beginning of the war and in the clip he suddenly returned in uniform.
Neither Putin nor anyone else has gone out so far and denied the speculation.
– Something seems strange
Steiner Hoydel, a video verification researcher and former producer and associate professor of TV journalism at Volta University College, tells Duckbladet that verifying many videos from Russia and Ukraine is a big dilemma. The clip of Thursday’s digital meeting is no exception.
– In this case, there are pros and cons to speaking out, says Hoydel.
He says the quality of the record is difficult to assess because it is so poor at first. At the same time, Høydal points out that the part in Sjojku’s picture is different from the other participants, and that the picture appears almost concise.
– Based on this clip it cannot be said that he got there, at least not for sure. There is no evidence, Høydal concludes.
The first seconds of the clip with the Defense Minister make him very skeptical.
– In the first seconds, it looks like there are two different people in the video, first one person and then the Minister of Defense. If you notice an image after four seconds, there is a name. But the next moment it seems to say something else, says Hoydell.
– The whole world is in danger
– A good candidate
At the same time, he points out that you see the microphone on the desk in the video, which is said to be the origin of the reused clip. He believes there is no reused sequence from the previous video meeting in the video of Thursday’s meeting.
– I think it may be from the same room, but not in the same setting. This is because the microphone was not visible in the video of yesterday’s meeting. That, too, does not seem to have been messed up. Or … is the microphone dim or shaded in the corner? No, it was very difficult, says Heidel.
In the end, the senior lecturer asks if the goal is to show the defense minister that the screen with participants in the meeting would not be more centered on Sjoj. However, at first glance and analysis the conclusion is that no one can establish whether the clip was manipulated or real.
– I understand that the question was asked, and I must say that in this way it would not be so difficult to deal with such a clip on video from a meeting. It will take a very long time to unravel it from this material. But if anyone here has been manipulated, I think the defense minister could be said to be a good candidate, says Hoydel.
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