How influencers dey use deepfakes, celebrities and misinformation glorify Burkina Faso junta leader Ibrahim Traoré

BBC News

17-05-2025

Smoke dey rise from one building as Beyoncé, dressed in combat gear, ride on one armoured vehicle. Captain Ibrahim Traoré, Burkina Faso military leader, dey di music video too, and fire gun. "God protect Ibrahim Traoré in di battle for di pipo way, break chains from di empire hold," di song lyrics tok.
Yet dem no really be Beyoncé or Ibrahim Traoré. Di video na deepfake, a type of content wey dem dey use artificial intelligence create to look real.
Hundreds of AI-generated videos portray Oga Traoré as pan-African hero, many wey carry false information, bin don dey flood social media platforms across Sub-Saharan Africa since late April.
Di trend dey far-reaching, wit social media users on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, and YouTube from kontris like Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, dey tout Oga Traoré as example for oda African leaders. Some influencers call demsefs "pan-Africanists" and build on disappointment wit dia own goments.
Authentic versus coordinated support
Di 37-year-old military junta leader wey take power of di West African nation for 2022 present imsef as champion of anti-imperialism, criticise wetin e see as di interference of Western powers, particularly France, while e dey position Russia as a strategic ally.
Under Oga Traoré, Burkina Faso don experience democratic decline, wit reports say dem dey detain journalists and critics and dey drafted into di army. One recent report by Human Rights Watch accuse goment forces say dem kill at least 100 civilians for one attack for March.
But Oga Traoré many public appearances and portrayal of "simple" leader don help build a powerful image wey resonate both internationally and for Burkina Faso, draw crowds of supporters to di streets of capital Ouagadougou. Some describe am as a "reincarnation" of Thomas Sankara, di iconic former military leader of Burkina Faso wey dem assassinate for 1987 following one coup.
Observers say many young Africans don tire wit di status quo and dia goments and dey sympathetic to some of Oga Traoré key messages like to dey question ties wit di West. E dey known as skilled orator and dey media-savvy, wey also help explain why some view am as leader to emulate.
While concrete support of Oga Traoré across Africa dey, "di increase in AI-generated content wey dem dey use to drive dis narratives suggest say e no dey organic," Eliud Akwei, one senior investigative analyst for Code for Africa, one nonprofit wey dey investigate disinformation on di continent, tok.
Some AI-narrated videos bin pretend say dem be professional news reports, even though dem carry misleading claims about Oga Traoré or im goment. One video wey claim say one of Oga Traoré guards "dey offered $5 million to kill am" don generate over 1 million views. Though Burkina Faso don report coup attempts against Oga Traoré since e take power, no evidence to support say dis happun.
One particularly popular video wit 4.5 million views tell di story of one fictional incident on a plane wia Oga Traoré, no dey recognised by one flight attendant, dem ask am to leave im seat in business class in favour of one French businessman. Although dis specific video dey labelled as "work of fiction", multiple YouTube channels bin retell di story as if e be one incident wey actually happun.
Dr Lassane Ouedraogo, Assistant Professor of Communications from Ohio University wey come from Burkina Faso, say "some of di social media posts na wishful thinking. Some of dem na true facts, but rendered wit plenti exaggeration".
Meanwhile, deep-fake music videos don emerge as new tactic in di campaign, wey feature celebrities like Selena Gomez and Rihanna alongside Oga Traoré. Over 40 dey uploaded to YouTube within one single week.
We bin speak to di Nigerian creator of one deepfake video wey feature Traoré alongside singer R. Kelly, wey draw 1.8 million views.
"Di only reason I do am na di 'Ibrahim Traoré' effect," 33-year-old Oguji Nnamdi Kenneth wey define imsef as a fan of di West African leader tok. E say di video earn am $2000 through YouTube monetisation. "Na purely AI. I think say pipo suppose know. I no dey here to deceive anyone."
Gold reserves
Pan-Africanist social media accounts bin first start to boost Oga Traoré' profile wen e bin fly to St. Petersburg for di Russia-Africa Summit for July 2023. Pictures of am wit Russian President Vladmir Putin and im speech dey widely circulated online, including by Russian state media, wey don notably boosted Oga Traoré' profile for di region.
Anoda spike of Traoré support and propaganda start for dis year early April, afta allegations dey raised for di United States.
During one US Senate hearing, di head of Africom, General Michael Langley, accuse President Traoré say e use di kontri gold reserves to protect im regime. Dis bin spark one wave of pan-Africanist social media posts wey claim say di US aim to remove am from power. Multiple posts bin carry false information.
On 22 April, one account wit almost one million followers on X bin post say Langley tell di United States Senate say "di President of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traoré, na threat to im pipo".
But wetin Oga Langley tok, according to di transcript of di hearing wey di BBC see, na say di proceeds from gold reserves for Burkina Faso be "just one exchange to protect di junta".
Data from Code for Africa show say afta Oga Langley statement, one network of 165 Facebook accounts use identical messaging to amplify one false claim say Russian president Vladimir Putin bin send special forces to protect Oga Traoré against di US, and e generate over 10.9 million views in just 10 days.
In reality, Russian soldiers already dey Burkina Faso for counterterrorism operations, wey no relate to di US comments.
On X, anoda user bin post one clip of a large gathering of pipo. "Look at di crowds of pipo wey dey march in France for Ibrahim Traoré and Burkina Faso sovereignty," di user write.
One reverse search of one scene from di clip show, however, say one of di buildings inside di video na Orthodox church St. Mark, for Belgrade, Serbia. Di video portray one anti-goment protest for Belgrade for March 2025.
Di shared video get 3,000 likes and no dey identified on di social media platform as false.
From im home for Ghana, blogger Sulemana Mohammed bin post di same video on Facebook, and allege say e show one pro-Traoré demonstration for South Africa. Even afta di BBC say no be true, Oga Mohammed kontinu to stand by im claim.
"E just dey so funny wen pipo make am look like wetin we say about our leaders no be true," e tok.
Mohammed wey be self-described pan-Africanist say e admire Oga Traoré sake of say "e don become wetin di African pipo don dey look for all dis years".