Varoufakis and AI deep fake!

I posted a link to a video purportedly by Yanis Varoufakis earlier today. I cautioned viewers that it might be fake, and a number of subscribers have confirmed it is.

Mea Culpa!

I must apologise to Mr Varoufakis and my Substack subscribers for reposting a fake video which appeared to be genuine. In my defence, I did caution about the possibility of it being fake, but the content seemed genuine, and the deep-fake Varoufakis was on the money with much of his analysis.

The bit which didn’t quite ring true was that he claimed to have been admitted to a private meeting with central bankers at the Bank of International Settlements. These meetings do exist bimonthly, and it might have been possible, though unlikely, for an ex-finance minister of Greece to be admitted, if not to the meeting itself but to mingle with central bankers after the meeting.

Whoever put the video together was very well informed.

The bit which was worthwhile alerted us to the helplessness of central bankers to resolve the mounting difficulties of perpetuating the post-Bretton Woods fiat currency system. The concerns of those who allegedly spoke to deep-fake Varoufakis certainly rang true, and I have written about the ease with which the Bank of England can reintroduce exchange controls which are merely in abeyance.

It has been a lesson for us all, not least for me. I pride myself for doing my own research, even though subscribers send me videos and articles from other commentators, to which I tend to not pay much attention.

I slipped up here! But it was a very, very good fake!