A video published on January 8, 2026 on the X platform has triggered widespread concern and strong reactions, with questions over its authenticity becoming central to public debate in Cyprus and Greece. The footage, presented as a leak, includes excerpts of conversations involving political and business figures. Some media outlets have interpreted these references as relating to issues of pre-election campaign financing connected to President Nikos Christodoulides.
Can't even describe what I just received!
— Emily Thompson (@EmilyTanalyst) January 8, 2026
🚨 BREAKING BOMBSHELL VIDEO EXPOSES CYPRUS PRESIDENT'S SHADOW CASH MACHINE!
President Nikos Christodoulides allegedly SMASHED the €1M campaıgn fınance cap vıa a sneaky family network!
Brother-in-law Charalambos Charalambous (Director of… pic.twitter.com/B9YDR1Y3T3
Amid intense circulation and public confusion, Fact Check Cyprus has sought to address the key question of whether the video is authentic or whether it may have been edited, selectively presented, or interpreted outside its original context. The assessment is based on the technical and journalistic evidence available so far.
What the video shows
According to Fact Check Cyprus, the video published on January 8 has prompted numerous questions and reactions online and across the media in Cyprus and Greece. The footage includes recorded conversations involving various public and business figures in Cyprus, including the Director of the Office of the President Charalambos Charalambous, former Minister of Energy Giorgos Lakkotrypis, and Cyfield Group CEO Giorgos Chrysochoos.
Several Greek-language Cypriot and Greek media outlets have raised questions about the financing of President Christodoulides’ 2023 presidential election campaign.
The account that posted the video
The video is presented as a “leak” and was reposted by an X account under the name “Emily Thompson”, which identifies itself as an “independent analyst”.
Checks carried out
A reverse image and video search did not return any results.
In parallel, the video and several of its segments, particularly those showing identifiable political and business figures, were analysed using artificial intelligence and deepfake detection tools, specifically the Hive Moderation and InVID-WeVerify platforms. These checks did not identify clear or convincing indications of AI-generated or deepfake manipulation, particularly in the sections where the recorded individuals appear on screen.
Regarding the origin of the post, and based on publicly available information on X, the account named Emily Thompson has been active since 2022 and lists its location as the United Kingdom. No public or verifiable information has been found that confirms the real identity of the individual behind the account.
Online research did, however, identify a profile under the same name on the website eurasiareview.com, also describing the author as an “independent analyst”. It has not been possible to verify with certainty whether this profile belongs to the same person operating the X account.
What cannot yet be determined
At this stage, it has not been possible to determine whether the video has been edited or presented out of context, nor whether certain excerpts were selectively chosen or framed in a particular way. The absence of access to the full audiovisual material and to precise information about the conditions under which it was recorded does not allow for a complete assessment of the coherence of the conversations or the context in which they took place.
Conclusion
Based on the evidence available so far, the video does not display obvious technical signs of manipulation through artificial intelligence. However, the circumstances of its production, the possibility of editing, and the exact identity of its creators cannot be established with certainty at this time.