U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen has long maintained there should be more government and regulatory oversight of nonbank cryptocurrency markets. In February, in an opening statement before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, she said nonbank financial institutions, including cryptocurrencies, “pose potential risks to the financial system.”
But a recent video clip posted to social media appears to show her saying that instead of regulating cryptocurrencies, the government is going to “pump” up cryptocurrency market caps.
“Counsel has discussed crypto regulations and legislation at length, and we have come to the conclusion that instead of regulating … we are going to pump it to over a billion, 300 million, trillion market cap,” she purportedly says in the video.
One X user posted the video with the caption, “Janet Yellen on this crypto cycle… wow.”
“BREAKING: United States secretary of the treasury Janet Yellen in remarkable about face on crypto,” another caption said. This X caption says, “BREAKING: United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen gives an important update regarding crypto.”
THE QUESTION
Is the video of Janet Yellen talking about cryptocurrency real?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, the video of Janet Yellen talking about cryptocurrency is not real. It’s a deepfake and is clearly satire.
WHAT WE FOUND
Deepfake videos, like this clip of Yellen, are made using artificial intelligence programs that can be used to replace or synthesize faces, speech or expressions of emotions.
The viral video was created using an existing video from remarks Yellen gave on Nov. 10, 2023, at a press conference following bilateral meetings with Vice Premier He Lifeng of the People’s Republic of China. The press conference was held in San Francisco, California.
Using InVid, a video forensics tool, VERIFY analyzed the keyframes of the viral video and conducted a reverse image search of the frames. That’s how we were able to find the original video posted to CNBC’s YouTube channel on Nov. 10, 2023.
In both videos – the original and the viral deepfake – podium and background are the same. Yellen is wearing the same outfit, has the same hairstyle and the CNBC logo can be seen in both clips.
What makes it clear that the viral video is fake is the audio. The audio heard in the video doesn’t match Yellen’s lip movements and the statement she made at the end of the video, including curse words, are clear indicators the video is fake and is meant as satire.
C-SPAN, which televises proceedings of the federal government and other public affairs content, also covered Yellen’s remarks from November 2023 and posted the video on the C-SPAN website.
According to transcripts of the press conference published by C-SPAN and by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s, Yellen and Lifeng met in November for two days of meetings to discuss the economic relationship between the U.S. and China. At no point in her remarks did Yellen curse, mention cryptocurrency or speak about regulating bitcoin markets.
The VERIFY team works to separate fact from fiction so that you can understand what is true and false. Please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter, text alerts and our YouTube channel. You can also follow us on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Learn More »
