Russian pranksters say they fooled Bernie Sanders by posing as Greta Thunberg

A pair of Russian pranksters who have targeted several high-profile American politicians claim they called Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders late last year posing as teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg with an offer to support his campaign.

Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov Told the Associated Press the call took place in December 2019. The pair posted an audio recording of the purported call to YouTube on Thursday. The Sanders campaign did not immediately return Fox News’ request to verify whether or not the recording is authentic.

The recording was released more than two months after the call because of Sanders’ success in the Iowa Democratic caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, they said.

On the call, a female pretends to be Thunberg and Stolyarov plays her father, Svante. They offer to lend support to the Vermont senator’s campaign. Sanders suggests “Greta” make a public statement in support of him and that they do an event together the next time she visits the United States.

“Let us continue to talk and when you come to the United States I will bring some people together and we can do some interesting things, and if you wanted to make a statement in support of my candidacy and the program we have outlined for climate change, I would be very very appreciative,” Sanders said.

Watch: James Comer Brings Hard Evidence to House Floor After Hakeem Jeffries Calls Him a ‘Stone-Cold Liar’

Russia and Ukraine worked ‘equally’ with US counterparts on peace deal for a month, Leavitt says

‘Peak Irony’ Riley Gaines Fires Back Against Megan Rapinoe’s Attack on the ‘Save Women’s Sports’ Movement

New York leaders condemn ‘intifada’ chants targeting a synagogue led by a Holocaust survivor

GOP wrestles with Obamacare fix as Trump looms over subsidy fight

Leavitt does damage control after ‘frustrated’ Trump lashes out at reporter and calls for executing Democrats

Fact Check: No, the Comey Prosecutor Did Not Mislead Grand Jurors, Regardless of What the Biden-Appointed Judge Says

ICE deports MS-13 gang leader who tried to ‘game our immigration system’ under Biden administration, DHS says

Even CNN Can’t Believe Jasmine Crockett’s Absurd Excuse for False Epstein Accusation Against Trump Official

Climate deadlines collide with politics as Dem-led states chase Big Oil in court but spare local refiners

Dem lawmaker sets litmus test for party with 5th Trump impeachment effort

Touchdown: Trump’s New Jersey Generals jacket auctioned for $18,658

Fox News ‘Antisemitism Exposed’ Newsletter: Hating on Miss Israel

Decamillionaires in Congress make taxpayers pay for their lodging and lunches

House members react to indictment of Florida Democrat: ‘Most egregious abuses of public trust’

Sanders has been a vocal supporter of tough measures to combat climate change, an issue that has garnered Thunberg worldwide notoriety.

At one point during the exchange, the fake Thunberg proposes to record a hip-hop song with Sanders, singer Billie Eilish and rapper Kanye West.

The pranksters then say they are slated to visit Russia and need advice on how to behave.

“I think what you don’t want to do is simply walk in there and get used,” Sanders said. “Russia and [President Vladimir] Putin has been very bad, as far as I know, on climate change. They have a lot of oil, oil is important for their economy, they make a lot of money on oil.”

The fake Thunberg than tells the senator that he was recruited by the KGB in 1988 when he visited Russia and has since been a “sleeper agent.”

“Now it’s time to wake up and fulfill your mission, become president of the United States, build communism in the United States and work for Russia!” the prankster said before Sanders hung up.

The call is part of the duo’s “Stars Save the Earth” project in which they place calls to politicians and celebrities pretending to be Thunberg.

“Many laugh at Bernie Sanders [and say] that he is a KGB agent and wants to build communism in the U.S. Since he calls himself a democratic socialist, we decided to play up this topic — the topic of Sanders being a recruited Russian agent,” Kuznetsov said.