Footage showing Burkina Faso leader is likely deepfake

A viral video which appears to show the leader of Burkina Faso criticising the portrayal of Africa in western media is almost certainly an AI creation.

One version of the video which has been shared on Facebook and amassed 626,000 “likes” is more than 25 minutes long and features Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the military ruler of Burkina Faso in West Africa, appearing to deliver a speech standing at a podium.

Captain Traoré, a soldier, installed himself as president of Burkina Faso in 2022 following a military coup in September that year.

In the speech, Captain Traoré appears to criticise the portrayal of Africa by western media, but also talks about international politics and conspiracy theories including about the death of former President of Burkina Faso Thomas Sankara.

However, our investigation into the video and analysis by the human rights non-profit WITNESS's Deepfakes Rapid Response Force told Full Fact it is almost certainly a deepfake created by artificial intelligence.

What evidence is there that it is an AI video?

Teams from the Deepfakes Rapid Response Force (DRRF) analysed the footage and found “evidence indicating AI manipulation”, and concluded that the video was “likely AI-manipulated”.

The organisation told us that the waveform (a visual representation of the sound waves) of the speech is “atypical” for a live press-conference environment, and that other audio clues indicate that the audio was created by a text-to-speech generative tool.

The DRRF also identified visual errors, including a section of the video where the right ear of Captain Traoré appears twice, and another section where a “small degradation” on the left side of the face occurs.

However, while the teams were confident the clip is AI-manipulated, they said that the exact process to create it cannot be proven without identifying the source material.

What other evidence is there that it is an AI video?

There are a number of clues that Full Fact found that indicate the video was very likely generated with AI.

The earliest and most high quality example of the footage we could find online is a YouTube video from 24 May titled: “Speech of Captain Ibrahim Traore! | We're Recording Every Lie You Tell About Africa!”

The description of the video, although stating it is a “full speech that mainstream media doesn't want you to hear”, also includes a disclaimer saying: “This video is entirely fictional content created for entertainment purposes only.

“While the content may be inspired by real events, all situations, dialogues, and characters depicted are fictional. Although inspired by Ibrahim Traoré’s life, the events and dialogues shown are not real and are part of an artistic creation process.

“No direct connection to any real person or institution is intended. This video is not meant to convey a political message but is prepared solely for entertainment and artistic expression. Viewers are advised to conduct their own research on the subject.”

According to the description, the video has also been marked as “altered or synthetic content” and says “sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated”.

The same account has also created a number of other videos about Captain Traoré, many of which appear to use AI.

Additionally, Captain Traoré appears to say [at 43 seconds]: “I am 34 years old.”

He is actually 37 years old. While he was 34 at the time of the coup in 2022, Full Fact could find no examples of this video circulating prior to May 2025. This sentence is also preceded by a strange audio glitch.

Puppet master deepfakes

Reverse image searches for stills from the video also do not produce an official source for the footage, or any credible media reports of it.

However, we have matched the video with an image of Captain Traoré taken at the Russia-Africa summit in July 2023.

Deepfakes can be created using a single picture, with ‘puppet master’ deepfakes using AI to animate an entire head.

While this photograph appears slightly different and covers only Captain Traoré’s head and shoulders, our analysis found this image was likely used to create the deepfake video.

Although the background has been changed, the positioning of Captain Traoré and the creases of his uniform align exactly with those in the picture taken in St Petersburg.

A small red light and shadow can be seen on the right arm of Captain Traoré, which also matches that of the microphone and its shadow in the real image, and does not correspond to the larger microphone which appears near his face in the viral video.

A sweeping green flash pattern is also visible on his chest in the video, which doesn’t appear to be part of the Burkina Faso military uniform typically worn by Captain Traoré.

The audio track that has been added likewise has hallmarks of being AI and has an unnatural cadence, with a constant stream of words being delivered without any significant pauses to breathe.

We have previously debunked a number of other AI generated videos and audio of politicians and prominent figures, including of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, London’s Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, and then new Pope Leo XIV in which he appeared to be addressing Captain Traoré.

And other media outlets have also found other videos about Captain Traoré to be deepfakes.

As AI technology becomes increasingly sophisticated, it is harder to differentiate between real and generated content online. Our recent blog delved into what clues to look out for if you suspect something may have been created with AI.