- Apr 19, 2018
- 2,128
Just as an aside really, I read a few years ago about how world leaders avoid their DNA being taken and potentially used by foreign powers to identify health issues and vulnerabilities etc. The incredible lengths some will go to to ensure either they only use their own things when visiting other nations or have staff on hand to monitor the removal and destruction / sterilisation of everything they touch like bedsheets. Some will essentially poo in a bag and have it taken home rather than flushed too so nothing can be analysed. Avoiding DNA retrieval or any kind of exposure about their health or wellbeing is something they take very seriously.Full disclosure - I believe Putin uses doubles.
So how hard can it be to verify Putin uses doubles? Well, jolly hard actually. I'm not talking about putting forward evidence, or claiming it's a fact. I'm talking about actually proving it. Beyond any and all doubt.
Facial recognition software might be the way to go. But that can be open to all kinds of challenges to its validity. How do you know it works? How do you know it works 100% of the time? Do you test and measure its performance against other people with doppelgangers, all with different ears?
Then there's DNA sampling from Putin at various events. I'm guessing that there might be problems with this approach. If Putin got wind of it, he could pick and choose his events, and simply not use his doubles and quietly 'retire' them. Even if you could get near enough Putin to take a quick sample of blood, that might be a career-ending move for a DNA scientist.
The BBC Verify team face their stiffest challenge.