On the TV channel Russia Today, during the program Right to Know, Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief, delivered a sensational claim. She asserted that a substantial share of the channel’s on-air talent are not real people at all but avatars built entirely with artificial intelligence. According to her account, these presenters exist only as digital constructs created by AI, with their voices, personalities, and on-screen appearances manufactured to resemble real hosts. The assertion highlighted that the wave of AI-generated figures extends beyond a single program, suggesting a broader shift in RT’s broadcasting approach.
“These are completely artificial. This person does not exist and never existed. This face does not exist; we took it, we created it, we brought it out: voice, character and everything else,” Simonyan said. The remarks underscored the idea that the on-screen representations are not documentary individuals but synthetic creations designed to simulate real presenters, complete with voice work, mannerisms, and public personas that audiences perceive as authentic RT figures.
The head of Russia Today emphasized that these AI servers are completely artificial, including their voices, characters and appearance. They also run their own social networks where they sometimes post humorous messages. For example, one of the AI presenters offered to subscribe to the Telegram channel, promising amnesty to the first 10 or 100 thousand subscribers “when we come to power.” The claim illustrates a broader narrative about AI-generated personalities and their potential reach on social platforms, blurring the line between machine-generated content and human interaction in modern media ecosystems.
Additionally, RT has abandoned the use of structure editors and images are now selected or created using artificial intelligence. According to Simonyan, this significantly reduces the cost of content production. The shift toward AI-assisted visuals and automation signals a strategic move toward efficiency, while raising questions about transparency, accountability, and the future role of human editors in shaping news and entertainment content for viewers in Canada and the United States.
Previously on WhatsApp appeared questionable AI functionality. This note points to earlier discussions about how AI tools and bots were being tested or discussed in messaging platforms, contributing to ongoing debates about the reliability and ethics of AI in everyday communication and media workflows.