Tag Archives: Zoom

Technology

Pixel 7 spec sheet mentions 5x optical zoom, face unlock, more

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The Pixel 7 series is expected to bit a fairly light update over the prior generation, but a new spec sheet hints that the camera could bring a bit more of an update than previously expected.

This latest Pixel 7 leak claims to show off a spec sheet and comparison page for the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, courtesy of a mobile carrier in Taiwan. The images were first shared in the Google News Telegram channel, and are claimed to have since been taken down (the carrier in question was not mentioned by name).

We’d recommend taking this with a slight grain of salt given the nature of the leak, but there are no obvious red flags here that we can see.

Related: Another Pixel Watch leak shows off bands and charger included in the box, 24-hour battery

That said, what do we potentially learn from this new Pixel 7 series spec sheet?

As we’ve known for months now, this spec sheet reiterates the 6.7-inch and 6.3-inch displays of the PIxel 7 Pro and Pixel 7, respectively, with their QHD 120Hz and FHD 90Hz panels. The phones are further mentioned to have 12GB of RAM and 8GB of RAM respectively, with both offering 128GB and 256GB models with Tensor G2 under the hood, IP68 water resistance, and both wired and wireless charging.

But this spec sheet seems to confirm a few other details that were previously rumored. Firstly, face unlock support is explicitly mentioned alongside fingerprint unlock. This would confirm what we’ve been reporting for several months, as well as some other recent leaks. Apparently, the use of a 10.8MP camera used for the front-facing sensor on both phones will be what helps this feature finally become a reality.

It’s perhaps the camera section that’s most intriguing here.

According to this Pixel 7 spec sheet, the smaller Pixel 7 will have mostly the same camera specs as the prior model, with a 50MP primary sensor, 12MP ultrawide, and no telephoto lens on the back. There would then be the previously mentioned 10.8MP camera on the front for selfies and face unlock.

Meanwhile, the Pixel 7 Pro would support the same 50MP primary, same 12MP ultrawide, and same 10.8MP front-facing cameras, while adding a 48MP telephoto to the mix. This is the same resolution as the Pixel 6 Pro, but this spec sheet claims that the Pixel 7 Pro will upgrade from a 4x telephoto lens to 5x. This would boost the performance of optical zoom at a distance, as well as boosting hybrid zoom (digital + optical) to a maximum of 30x, up from 20x on the Pixel 6 Pro.

Finally, the other camera specs we learn about here include “Movie Motion Blur” and “Macro Focus,” the latter being exclusive to the Pixel 7 Pro. There’s not much to go on as to what these features might be, but if we had to guess, “Movie Motion Blur” sounds a lot like it would replicate Apple’s “Cinematic Mode” on iPhones, while “Macro Focus” could perhaps use the telephoto lens as a macro lens, somehow, given the feature is only available on Google’s Pro-tier device.

In any case, we should learn more about these new modes, and see the finalized spec sheet for the Pixel 7 series in a matter of days. Google is set to officially unveil the Pixel 7 series and the Pixel Watch on October 6.

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Technology

Pixel 7 Pro camera zoom, Pixel Watch UI and bands

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For the past week, Google has been running a Pixel 7 ad on YouTube that happens to reveal a lot more of the Pixel Watch than we’ve previously seen.

Starting with the phone, we possibly get our first camera samples from the Pixel 7 Pro. Google shows off somebody capturing a dive from a distance by using 4x optical zoom, like the 6 Pro does today. In the background, you see the La Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, Spain.

There are also examples of the Pixel 7 offering “more detail, while “more focus” and “more magic” (eraser) are also touted.

App usage on the Pixel Watch app includes the Now Playing screen of YouTube Music for Wear OS, Google Maps navigation, Google Wallet/Pay, and taking a phone call. What’s notable about the last short, assuming its representative, is how you can flip the Pixel Watch so that the crown is at the right instead of the left.

Speaking of watch faces, we see a few examples, but they are likely applied in post. One that appears to be new is an analog face with two complication spots on the left (weather) and right (day/date).

We get a new shot of the Fitbit experience, specifically the exercise interface. We see rings at the edge possibly representing heart zones (Fat Burn, Cardio, and Peak), BPM (beats per minute) up top, step count, and two other stats.

On the band front, we got a glimpse of what we believe is the woven strap — note the plastic band attachment — in Coral. And a leather band with visible lugs that clearly differ from the default rubber ones.

Other things highlighted in the Pixel 7 and Pixel Watch ad include the Tensor G2 and quite a few Pixel Buds Pro shots. This 30-second video is unlisted and posted on September 22. It has over 830,000 views and presumably played as a YouTube ad. 

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Technology

Zoom Chat’s new name is Zoom Team Chat

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Many of us have been on a lot of Zoom calls during the pandemic, but you might not know that Zoom also has its very own Slack- and Microsoft Teams-esque product called Zoom Chat. On Monday, Zoom announced a small change to the name of the product — it’s now called Zoom Team Chat — alongside a handful of other handy updates coming to the collaboration software.

Let’s start with the name change. Zoom is adding “Team” because customers were getting confused about the difference between the chat you can use in Zoom meetings with the separate communication suite. Renaming the product to Zoom Team Chat “helps make the distinction that it is a full collaborative hub product,” Sharvari Nerurkar, Zoom Team Chat’s head of product, said in an interview with The Verge.

The idea for Zoom Team Chat is that it can be a singular collaboration hub where you can work with colleagues in real time on calls or asynchronously over text chat. If you’re like me, you may already be doing this mix of video, voice, and text to talk with your co-workers but across different pieces of software. (Here at The Verge, we typically chat over Slack but do video calls over Zoom.)

If your workplace uses Zoom for video calls, you can theoretically do much of your workplace communication in one place with Zoom Team Chat without having to jump from app to app. “Our customers are telling us that [they] do not want the friction of jumping to multiple different products to collaborate with the same group of people,” Nerurkar said.

To improve the experience of actually using Zoom Team Chat, Zoom has a few new features that it’s aiming to release by the end of the month. One update is that you’ll be able to share in-meeting chat right into Zoom Team Chat, making it easier to see any important notes (or your witty commentary) after the meeting is over. You’ll also be able to schedule a Zoom meeting right from a Zoom Team Chat channel, which could be useful if you’re having a text conversation that might lend itself to a call.

You’ll be able to send chats from a call to a Zoom Team Chat channel.
Image: Zoom

That said, Zoom is facing fierce competition from the likes of Slack, Microsoft, and Google, all of which are rapidly building out their own workplace communication products to help organizations adapt to hybrid work environments. While the Zoom Team Chat updates on the way seem useful, the company may have an uphill battle to convince workplaces to switch to Zoom Team Chat from platforms they might already be familiar with.

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Health

Worker Notices That NSFW Art on Her Wall Is Visible via Zoom

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A worker on TikTok has gone viral after showing the moment they realized they had a not-safe-for-work art piece visible on a Zoom call.

In a video with more than 14.3 million views, user Michaela (@michaelafoky) shows herself in a Zoom window, before quickly changing her background so that it is blurred.

“Remembering mid-meeting that a piece of art I hung up is not work appropriate,” she writes in the text overlaying the video.

@michaelafoky Haters will say its a reenactment #corporatejoke #zoomfail #itsajokedontfireme ♬ what the fuck was that – champagnemami

While Michaela confesses in the caption that the video may be a reenactment, hashtagging the piece “#corporatejoke #zoomfail #itsajokedontfireme,” the video still spurred discussion from users who had similar stories.

“I did my senior yr of college remote and for a majority of my classes,” a user recalled. “I forgot that the ‘Poopin Pooches’ calendar from my sister was behind me.”

“Me who totally forgot my bra was on my bed for a cluster meeting,” another added.

“Me in COVID college w my giant tapestry of a girl smoking in my background,” a third offered.

Still, other users said that given the abstract nature of the artwork and Zoom’s video compression, Michaela was probably fine in leaving it uncovered. Michaela later revealed the actual art, though she admitted the reveal was most likely “disappointing” to viewers.

@michaelafoky Replying to @myjujubean ♬ original sound – Michaelafoky

The print itself is a high-contrast image of someone swimming through water. The risqué aspect, Michaela shares, is that one nipple is exposed.

“It’s just enough inappropriate that my HR team wouldn’t appreciate it, so we took it down,” Michaela says.

While many commenters reiterated that Michaela was probably fine to leave the image up, others understood her position.

“All though it’s hard to tell I stilll you made the right choice and shouldn’t risk it cause we never know,” a user shared.

The Daily Dot reached out to Michaela via Instagram direct message.

*First Published: Sep 9, 2022, 8:15 am CDT

Braden Bjella

Braden Bjella is a culture writer. His work can be found in Mixmag, Electronic Beats, Schön! magazine, and more.

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Science

Zoom in on Webb Telescope’s Biggest Image Yet

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The Webb Space Telescope has taken its biggest image yet, exceeding the scale of the deep field image revealed by President Biden on July 12. The new image covers a region of sky eight times larger than the first Webb deep field, and it includes some dazzling structures from the cosmos.

The image—made up of a mosaic of 690 individual frames—was taken as part of the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey (CEERS). The images were taken in June, and Webb is scheduled to take another six (the last in a set of 10) in December, according to EarthSky.

The survey is a test of extragalactic surveying using Webb’s instruments, and it will focus on some of the earliest galaxies and their structures, as well as the physical conditions and growth of stars and black holes. It’s focused on a part of the sky called the Extended Groth Strip, near the handle of the Big Dipper. Because that region of the sky is dim (there aren’t particularly bright or nearby light sources), it’s easier for Webb to see more distant and fainter light sources.

The data captured in the composite image was collected by Webb’s NIRCam and MIRI, instruments that operate in the near- and mid-infrared wavelengths, respectively. The image is less than half of the data the team will ultimately collect for the survey.

In the full-scale .tif images (which can be found here), you can zoom in deeper and deeper until you completely lose sense—or perhaps better understand—the sheer scale of the cosmos. Here are some particularly intriguing objects.

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Business

Twitter, Zoom, Palo Alto Networks, Macy’s and more

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Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading Tuesday.

Zoom Video — Zoom sank more than 14% after missing on revenue estimates for the previous quarter due to a strong dollar. The videoconferencing company also cut its forecast for the full year amid slowing revenue growth.

Twitter – Shares of the social media network fell 6% after a whistleblower at the company filed complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department alleging “extreme, egregious deficiencies by Twitter” related to privacy, security and content moderation.

Palo Alto Networks – Shares of Palo Alto Networks jumped 11% after the company reported an earnings beat Monday, driven by strong billings up 44% in the quarter. The cybersecurity company also raised its quarterly and full-year guidance, boosted its buyback program and announced the approval of a 3-for-1 stock split.

Macy’s – Shares of the department store rose more than 4% after the retailer reported a fiscal second-quarter profit and revenue that topped analysts’ expectations. Macy’s also teased that its digital marketplace, which was announced last year, is launching in the coming weeks. However, the company cut its full-year forecast, saying it anticipates deteriorating consumer spending on discretionary items such as apparel that will lead to heavy markdowns to move items off shelves.

Dick’s Sporting Goods — Shares climbed 2% after the sporting goods retailer topped earnings and revenue estimates in its second-quarter results and also raised its full-year financial outlook.

Medtronic — Medtronic shares sank 3.4% despite a beat on revenue and earnings in the recent quarter. The medical devices maker said that revenue fell from a year ago as it grapples with supply chain constraints.

JD.com — Shares of the e-commerce company based in China rose 3.8% after the company exceeded analyst expectations on the top and bottom lines in the recent quarter. JD.com also said that annual active customer accounts rose 9.2%.

XPeng — XPeng sank 8.8% after posting a wider-than-expected loss in the previous quarter. The China-based electric vehicle company topped revenue expectations but said deliveries nearly doubled from the year-ago period.

J.M. Smucker – Shares of the food products company rose more than 3% on Tuesday after J.M. Smucker’s first-quarter adjusted earnings topped expectations at $1.67 per share. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had penciled in $1.27 per share. Revenues were in-line at $1.87 billion. The earnings beat came despite a hit from the Jif peanut butter recall

Grocery Outlet Holding – Shares of the discount grocery store chain shed 4% after being downgraded by Morgan Stanley to underweight from equal weight. The firm cited downside to Grocery Outlet Holding’s 2023 estimates and not as much upside to its 2022 estimates being baked in. The stock has also already surged more than 40% this year. 

Pinduoduo — The e-commerce stock jumped 6.2% amid news that it’s reportedly preparing to launch an international e-commerce platform next month targeting North America.

— CNBC’s Carmen Reinicke, Yun Li, Sarah Min, Tanaya Macheel, Jesse Pound and Michelle Fox contributed reporting.

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Business

Zoom (ZM) earnings Q2 2023

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Eric Yuan, founder and chief executive officer of Zoom Video Communications Inc., speaks during the BoxWorks 2019 Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019.

Michael Short | Bloomberg

Zoom Video Communications shares fell as much as 9% in extended trading on Monday after the video-calling software maker pared back its full-year forecast for earnings and revenue.

Here’s how the company did:

  • Earnings: $1.05 per share, adjusted, vs. 94 cents per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
  • Revenue: $1.10 billion, vs. $1.12 billion as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.

Zoom’s revenue in the second fiscal quarter grew 8% year over year, slowing from 12% growth in the prior quarter, according to a statement. The second fiscal quarter ended on July 31. Zoom’s net income fell to $45.7 million in the quarter from $316.9 million in the year-ago quarter as the company increased spending on sales and marketing.

The strong U.S. dollar, performance in the company’s online business and sales that got weighted toward the end of the quarter negatively impacted revenue in the quarter, Kelly Steckelberg, Zoom’s finance chief, said in the statement.

“We have implemented initiatives focused on driving new online subscriptions, which have shown early promise but were not enough to overcome the macro dynamics in the quarter,” Steckelberg said on a Zoom call with analysts.

The company said at the end of the quarter it had about 204,100 enterprise customers, which are business units that Zoom’s direct sales teams, resellers or partners work with. That’s up less than 3% from 198,900 three months earlier. Enterprise customers deliver 54% of total revenue. Online business customers are Zoom customers that don’t work directly with Zoom salespeople, resellers or partners.

With respect to guidance, Zoom called for adjusted fiscal third quarter earnings of 82 cents per share to 83 cents per share on $1.095 billion to $1.100 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had been looking for 91 cents in adjusted earnings per share and $1.15 billion in revenue.

Management lowered its projections for the full 2023 fiscal year, calling for $3.66 to $3.69 in adjusted earnings per share and $4.385 billion to $4.395 billion in revenue, implying 7% growth at the middle of the revenue range. Analysts whom Refinitiv surveyed had expected $3.76 per share in adjusted earnings and revenue of $4.54 billion. The view three months ago was $3.70 and $3.77 in adjusted earnings per share and revenue ranging from $4.530 billion to $4.550 billion. Economic conditions primarily caused executives to revise their view.

“As the majority of our revenue has shifted back to the enterprise and we have moved beyond the pandemic buying patterns, we are returning to more normalized enterprise sales cycles with linearity weighted towards the backend of the quarter,” Steckelberg said on the Zoom call. “This contributed to higher than expected deferred revenue in Q2, and as we believe this customer behavior will persist, we have factored it into our outlook.”

The company expects the online business to be down 7% to 8% in the full fiscal year, compared with its forecast for no growth in that part of the business earlier. Zoom has changed its spending expectations for the second half to prioritize areas with a high return on investment, such as research and development and sales operations, Steckelberg said.

In the quarter, Zoom announced a new pricing structure called Zoom One and said it had agreed to acquire conversational artificial-intelligence software startup Solvvy. Citi lowered its rating on Zoom stock to sell from the equivalent of hold last week, citing rising competition and economic pressure on small and medium-sized businesses and spending on less essential categories.

Excluding the after-hours move, Zoom shares have fallen 47% so far this year, while the S&P 500 index is down 13% during the same period.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

WATCH: Here’s why Citi’s Tyler Radke sees downside ahead for Snowflake and Zoom

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Science

You Have to Zoom in for a Full Minute to See the Galaxy in This Webb Telescope Video

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Webb’s first image of Cartwheel Galaxy was released on August 2.
Gif: Gizmodo/ESA/Webb

Space is big and scary, and a new video created from Webb Space Telescope data goes to show the massive distances separating us from the objects we’re trying to observe. In this case, it’s the Cartwheel Galaxy, one of Webb’s recent targets.

Webb has amazed us since the first full-color images from the observatory arrived in July. Early this month, NASA and its international partners released an incredible image of the Cartwheel Galaxy, a chaotic structure some 500 million light-years away from Earth, formed by the collision of two smaller galaxies.

Zoom into the Cartwheel Galaxy

The Cartwheel Galaxy is a stunning testament to Webb’s impressive optics. But a new video released by the European Space Agency show just how massively far away this thing is. The cinematic zoom-in shown here will make you feel really, absurdly, impossibly tiny.

“Webb’s observations capture Cartwheel in a very transitory stage. The form that the Cartwheel Galaxy will eventually take, given these two competing forces, is still a mystery. However, this snapshot provides perspective on what happened to the galaxy in the past and what it will do in the future,” said ESA in a press release.

The Cartwheel Galaxy formed when two galaxies collided, “like ripples in a pond after a stone is tossed into it,” as NASA describes it. The inner core consists of hot dust, and the brightest parts of the ring are home to gigantic clusters of young stars. The outer ring has been expanding for the last 440 million years, triggering star formation along the way as the outer ring slams into the gas surrounding it.

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Webb is just getting started and could be operating for the next 20 years. It’ll show us the infrared universe like we’ve never seen it before.

More: Are the Colors in Webb Telescope Images ‘Fake’?

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Technology

President Biden’s awesome video conferencing setup starts with a $7,000 Zoom gadget

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President Joe Biden tweeted his Zoom rig on Friday, and it looked so good I suddenly needed to know everything about it. The tweet wasn’t about his video gear, of course; it was to pat himself on the back for falling gas prices. But I don’t want to talk about that. I also don’t want to talk about the chart next to the screen, which was obviously placed there just for this photo and is deeply hilarious. I want to talk about the big easel-looking Zoom rig in front of Biden, as he sits at a desk at the White House residence.

It makes sense that politicians would have the best video chat gear, right? Nobody has more to gain from looking good on video, and nobody has more to lose from a dropped call, low-res cameras, or that thing where you can only hear half the words they say and you end up making Bitcoin the official currency of the United States. Zoom diplomacy is the name of the game these days, and you have to bring your best game. Plus, high-level government officials have been doing video calls around the world for many years. They know how this works.

I’m pretty sure Biden is looking at a Neat Board, which is made by a Norwegian company that’s only a couple of years old. The board is a dedicated video and collaboration gadget with a 65-inch 4K screen, an integrated touchscreen and whiteboard tool, and a 12-megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom. It’s a lot like Google’s Jamboard or Microsoft’s Surface Hub, and Neat’s gear works with both Teams and Zoom. (This one’s on Zoom, it appears, as the White House has been using Zoom for Government for a while.) The whole rig in front of Biden is about six feet tall and weighs about 125 pounds. It also costs $7,280 as he has it configured — though he doesn’t appear to be using the $760 Scheduling Display or the $760 Controller, so he’s exercising some fiscal responsibility there.

The White House must like the device because it’s been in use in the Oval Office since right after Biden’s inauguration, rolling and swiveling to either face the couch in the office or Biden at the Resolute Desk. Neat confirmed at the time that it was in fact a Neat Board, though the company seemed surprised to see its product in the Oval Office. (The company hasn’t responded to my request for comment.) The whole setup is impressive, with Biden looking comfortable at his desk and with the camera an ideal distance away so he looks engaged but the participants aren’t staring up his nose.

I do have a couple of notes, though, Mr. President, if I may. For one thing, you really need a mic on your desk: you’re a long way away from the microphone, and I know Zoom and its partners have gotten better at isolating audio, but you’re still going to sound like you’re shouting from the other side of a football field. Maybe replace one of those two desk phones with a dedicated Zoom mic? (Or just build one right into the desk, and into the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. I’m sure Rutherford B. Hayes wouldn’t mind.) Also, bring a couple more things into your background, so it’s not just a flat-looking wall behind you. Maybe a plant or, I don’t know, those enormous flags that usually sit right behind you. And while I’m being picky, I might clean up the desk a little. Or at least put your coffee cup on a coaster.

President Biden brings his video chat A-game to meetings with tech CEOs, too.
Photo by Amr Alfiky-Pool/Getty Images

There are video conferencing rigs of all sorts around the White House these days. For the most official and highest stakes moments, Biden seems to prefer to set up a high-end camera and feed that into Zoom, much like he’s giving a standard TV broadcast. But, in the Roosevelt Room, there’s a pretty standard camera above a TV conferencing rig, and Biden seems to always sit at the head of the table facing it. (Also, there are mics on the table!) The Situation Room has a dedicated setup, and there’s a camera and a Sharp TV built into the wall at Camp David as well. If this whole “democracy” thing doesn’t work out, the White House would make a terrific WeWork.

I tried to figure out how Biden’s setup compared to former President Donald Trump’s, mostly to no avail. Pre-pandemic, Trump did video conferences from a hulking rig in Mar-a-Lago, but during the pandemic… I can’t find much. Trump did plenty of video conferencing, including from the Oval Office, but there’s much less evidence of what he used. Looking at how he looks in various videos and Zoom grids, though, it certainly looks like he favors the fancy camera approach. And it appears he preferred regular phone calls anyway.

Former President Trump did plenty of Zoom calls while he was president, too.
Image: Trump White House Archive/Flickr

For a more achievable presidential Zoom rig, I might recommend former President Barack Obama’s setup: an iPad on a stand. In a recent video, you can see Obama video chatting from his desk with an iPad Pro on an adjustable desk stand. I can’t say with total certainty, but I think it’s the Lisen Tablet Stand, which you can get for $24 on Amazon. It’s not quite as nice a setup as Biden’s, and we here at The Verge continue to have mixed feelings about Center Stage on the iPad, but it’s still definitely better than your laptop.

Oh, and here’s the most important lesson you can learn from presidential Zoom behavior: turn off your self view. In practically every video conference I could find, Biden’s own feed wasn’t on the screen. It’s good for your mental health, it’s good for your focus, and it’s just better than staring at yourself all day. None of us need to see more of our own face, even when we’re president.



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Entertainment

J.K. Rowling fooled by Russians impersonating Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on a Zoom call

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J.K. Rowling was a victim of a prank, and the “Harry Potter” author was not amused.

A video surfaced this week of Rowling believing she was on a Zoom call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

The author was conned by a Russian comedy duo, Vovan and Lexus. The group is notorious for tricking celebrities, however a spokesperson for Rowling called the video “edited” and “distasteful.”

J.K. ROWLING SLAMMED FOR DEFENDING CONCEPT OF BIOLOGICAL SEX: ‘IT ISN’T HATE TO SPEAK THE TRUTH’

J.K. Rowling was the latest victim of the Russian duo, Vovan and Lexus, impersonating Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on a Zoom call.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

“We can confirm that J.K. Rowling was a victim of a distasteful hoax video call by Russian pranksters, Vovan and Lexus, posing on camera as Ukraine’s President Zelensky,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

“J.K. Rowling was approached to talk about her extensive charitable work in Ukraine through her charity Lumos, supporting children and families who have been affected by the current conflict in the region. The video, which has been edited, is a distorted representation of the conversation,” the spokesperson concluded.

Rowling’s Lumos charity has been aiding Ukraine children and families in the Zhytomyr region. 

On Friday, the organization tweeted, “Our Ukraine response team is working tirelessly on the ground to provide material and psychological support to the children and families during this crisis.”

When the pranksters addressed her charity, they said, “I want to clarify where you are sending the money that Lumos has collected. … We want to buy a lot of weapons and missiles with your money to destroy Russian troops, I hope you are all for that.” 

CELEBRITIES REACT TO J.K. ROWLING’S COMMENTS ABOUT TRANSGENDER PEOPLE

In the video, Rowling is seen replying, “We’ll look after the kids, but I really want Ukraine to have all of the arms it needs.”

Throughout the prank call, Vovan and Lexus made several “Harry Potter” refrences, even claiming the scar on Potter’s head looks like a “Z,” which has become of symbol of Russian support during their invasion of Ukraine. The Russian military has placed the symbol on several of their military tanks. 

The duo referenced Rowling’s controversial transgender comments during the 12-minute call.
(AP)

Vovan and Lexus asked Rowling if she would change the famous symbol to a Ukraine trident and she replied, “I will look into that. It might be good for me to do something with that myself on social media because I think that will get into the newspapers.”

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The two men, Vladimir “Vovan” Kuznetsov and Aleksei “Lexus” Stolyarov have fooled several celebrities in the past, including Elton John, President George W. Bush, Vice President Harris and Prince Harry.

The Russian pranksters referenced Rowling’s character, Albus Dumbledore, and asked the author if the character was gay, adding “hopefully not a transgender.” The comment was a jab to Rowling’s controversial comments on the transgender community.

The Russian duo impersonated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
(Photo by SERGEY DOLZHENKO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The video was first flagged by the Rowling Library, a website dedicated to news surrounding the author.

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The pranksters ended the call with a trio appearing on the Zoom claiming they were members of “The Order of the Ukrainian Phoenix” that read the “Harry Potter” series to soldiers. They all wore matching purple t-shirts that read “Only Putin” in Russian.

Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.



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