Now, pro-LTTE group circulates deepfake video of slain leader Prabhakaran

CHENNAI: Months after failing miserably in an attempt to create a false narrative of the existence of Dwaraka using a video of an impersonator, a Europe-based pro-LTTE group has now come out with an AI video of slain Prabhakaran calling for unity among Tamils to fight suppressive 'Sinhalese' government.

The so-called 'live stream' of Dwaraka, daughter of Prabhakaran, was described as a con act by intelligence agencies. And now a Tamil group has come out with a video in which 'Prabhakaran' – clean shaven and aged in appearance – was seen appealing to his 'beloved people of Tamil Eelam'.

"Because of the suppressive rules, we had to take up armed struggle against Sinhala rulers. We are never at war. We stood united. We engaged them in peace talks many times.

Because the Mahinda government used peacetime in his favour and used world imperial powers to end our 33-year-long armed struggle. Now 15 years are gone.

Our struggle has seen many big betrayals. We have survived all those things. But, now we have to eliminate betrayers and traitors and have a duty to remember the martyrdom of Tigers and people to stand united and chase them out," the slain leader's AI-generated video said.

It may be noted that members of a splinter group of pro-Eelam activists had been producing such videos over the last few years either to gather support or to mobilise funds. Prabhakaran and his family members were eliminated by Lankan forces in the civil war in May 2009, as per the Lankan government.

In November last year, during 'Maaveeran Naal', a woman posing as Dwaraka appeared on social media and later it was said the woman was a resident of Frauenfeld, Switzerland.

More than a year ago, a video of a Lankan woman identified as Udayakala, who had escaped from TN along with her husband, popped up on social media portraying her as the daughter of slain LTTE leader Prabhakaran.

Udayakala's husband Dhayabara Raj was in Tiruchy special camp in 2016 and later shifted to Mandapam camp. From the camp, the two seem to have escaped to the island country from where the video emerged.