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AFP
27-05-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Video of Pope Leo XIV denouncing Vance is fake
"Vance, you say you hope Biden recovers soon, yet you attack him with such cold, calculated words. It's hard to believe someone like you is part of the US government," Pope Leo XIV appears to say in the clip, which was shared in a May 23, 2025 post on Instagram. "As an American-born pope, my heart is full of concern and sorrow," the audio continues. "Looking back at some of the policies Mr. Vance has put forward, it seems he's forgotten the most basic principle of human compassion, placing people in difficult and painful situations. This runs completely counter to the teachings we hold dear." Flashing between shots of the pope speaking and clips of Vance and Biden, the minute-long video goes on to feature what sounds like the pope's voice saying Vance should have offered Biden "sympathy and blessings" and must "let go of hostility and approach others with tolerance." Image Screenshot from Instagram taken May 27, 2025 The same video spread across Instagram and TikTok after Biden's office announced May 18 that he had been diagnosed with an "aggressive" form of prostate cancer which had reached his bones. The posts reference Vance's comments after Biden's diagnosis, which stoked allegations of a cover-up surrounding the Democrat's health. Speaking following a May 19 visit with Pope Leo, Vance wished Biden a recovery while also saying, "We really do need to be honest about whether the former president was capable of doing the job." he was chosen May 8 to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, Pope Leo used a personal X account to opine on a range of hot-button issues. y included the amplification of articles criticizing Vance and US President Donald Trump, particularly on the topic of migration. In one instance, he reposted a headline and a link to an essay saying Vance was "wrong" to quote Catholic doctrine to support the administration's cancellation of foreign aid. But the video purporting to show blasting Vance over his reaction to Biden's cancer is fake. A TikTok watermark on the video reveals it was first posted to the platform May 20 alongside a label indicating it was AI-generated. AFP's analysis of the audio using the voice cloning detection tool in the Verification Plugin, also known as InVID-WeVerify, found it is likely AI-generated. Siwei Lyu, director of the University at Buffalo's Media Forensic Lab (archived here), said his own analysis of the audio likewise determined that it "has a high likelihood of being AI-generated, and produced using a text-to-speech or voice cloning model." "The tone is overly smooth and consistently calm, resembling scripted delivery typical of synthetic speech," Lyu told AFP in a May 24 "Also, which is another sign that it may be AI-generated," he added. Keyword searches for the returned no matching quotes in the Vatican's transcripts or in news articles. The footage of the pope appears to have been pulled from his May 10 remarks to cardinals -- delivered in Italian -- about why he chose papal name (archived here). He can be seen wearing the same and standing before the same background as in the deepfake shared online. AFP contacted the Vatican for comment, but no response was forthcoming. AFP has debunked other misinformation about the pope here.
AFP
21-05-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Execution video from 2021 filmed in Ethiopia's Tigray region, not in Amhara
The 19-second clip posted on Facebook on May 15, 2025, is accompanied by text in Amharic that reads: 'Do not ask me why I must support Fano. Do not ask me why I hated the prosperity party and soldiers in military uniform.' The Prosperity Party governs Ethiopia. Image Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on May 19, 2025. The video, which has been shared more than 470 times, also contains a text overlay in Amharic which translates to: 'Amharas are being massacred. Please share this video with all.' The harrowing footage shows people wearing military uniforms rounding up and shooting an unarmed group in civilian clothes in a dry, hilly area. A similar post was also shared on Facebook. Amhara conflict After the Ethiopian federal government decided to disarm all local paramilitary groups in April 2023, the Fano militia – who were former allies during the Tigray war – turned against the state and a fresh conflict began in the Amhara region (archived here). AFP reported in March 2025 that the fighting has caused a humanitarian crisis: several million children are out of school and many hospitals are no longer functioning (archived here). In the same month, federal forces said they had killed nearly 300 Fano fighters, while reports indicated that the government had lost control of much of the rural areas in the region. Last year, Amnesty International reported that the Ethiopian army had carried out extrajudicial executions of civilians in Amhara (archived here). However, the footage circulating on Facebook is unrelated to current events in the region. Mahbere Dego massacre AFP Fact Check used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from the video. The results established that a longer version of the clip, just over 90 seconds in length, was published on a gore site on June 17, 2021. Show Hide Content warning Show Image Screenshot of the longer version original video, taken on May 20, 2025 Hide The English caption reads: 'Ethiopia: Soldiers Executing Civilians (Longer version)', adding that 'it happened in Tigray, Ethiopia, where people say they are living a genocide'. A week later, Bellingcat, an independent organisation known for its digital investigative reporting on armed conflicts, published a report about this specific footage, which had been circulating on social media at the time, and concluded it was similar to other videos it verified of a massacre by Ethiopian soldiers in Mahbere Dego in the Tigray region sometime in January 2021 (archived here). Bellingcat's report included screenshots from the footage, which we matched to the video in the Facebook posts falsely claiming the events depicted were filmed recently in Amhara. Show Hide Content warning Show Image Screenshots from Bellingcat's report (left) and the false post, taken May 20, 2025 Hide CNN also aired part of the video a few days after Bellingcat published its findings. 'New video of Ethiopia massacre shows soldiers documenting executions,' the CNN caption reads (archived here). Months earlier, in April 2021, Belligcat ran an in-depth report on the Mahbere Dego massacre based on similar footage it believed was filmed in the same place and at the same time (archived here). BBC Africa Eye also published a similar investigative report about the massacre in the same month (archived here). The war in Tigray, pitting the Ethiopian military against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), cost more than 600,000 lives before a peace agreement was signed in Pretoria, South Africa, in November 2022 (archived here). Both sides were accused of atrocities (here and here) against civilians (archived here and here).
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Clip of Donald Trump asking Kenya's President William Ruto to resign is AI-generated
'Trumpp telling the president of kenya to do what kenyans want (sic),' reads the text overlay on an Instagram post published on May 6, 2025. The post has been liked more than 32,000 times. 'If I was the president of Kenya today and see all that is happening, I will just resign. No need of forcing yourself in power. If people don't want it, it means they don't want you,' Trump appears to say in the clip. The clip was also published in other Instagram posts here and here. Since taking office in 2022, Ruto's administration has faced criticism over a series of policies and actions that have exacerbated economic hardships and fuelled public outrage. Key among these was the Finance Bill 2024 which sparked countrywide protests last year (archived here). Marked by 'Ruto must go' chants, the demonstrations were marred by accusations of police brutality, including killings, arrests, and abductions of protesters and activists (archived here). Since then, the chants have grown popular at social gatherings and political rallies, leading Kenya's security chiefs to warn that those chanting must adhere to constitutional guidelines (archived here). However, the Instagram clip of Trump urging Ruto to listen to Kenyans and resign is altered. AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches on keyframes from the clip and found the original footage published by BBC News on July 19, 2024 (archived here). 'Donald Trump addresses Republican convention in first speech since shooting,' reads the video's title. Comparisons show Trump in the same attire and in front of the same background in both videos. Trump was speaking at the Republican convention in Milwaukee, recounting the assassination attempt that occurred five days earlier, leaving him with a grazed right ear. The distinctive bandage he wore during the speech is slightly visible in the Instagram video when he turns his head. In the address, also published by other news outlets, Trump made no mention of Ruto or Kenya (archived here and here). We also analysed the Instagram clip's audio through InVID-WeVerify's audio detection tool, and the results suggested strong evidence of voice cloning. We did not find any credible reports of Trump commenting on Kenyan politics. AFP Fact Check has recently debunked other Trump AI-generated claims.
AFP
20-05-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Clip of Donald Trump asking Kenya's President William Ruto to resign is AI-generated
Mounting public dissatisfaction with Kenyan President William Ruto's administration has led to calls for his resignation, driven by various concerns including economic hardship and reports of human rights violations by security forces. A video recently published on Instagram claims to show US President Donald Trump urging Ruto to resign. But the claim is false; the clip was AI-generated, and the original video shows Trump speaking after the 2024 assassination attempt on his life. 'Trumpp telling the president of kenya to do what kenyans want (sic),' reads the text overlay on an Instagram post published on May 6, 2025. The post has been liked more than 32,000 times. Image Screenshot of the altered post, taken on May 19, 2025 'If I was the president of Kenya today and see all that is happening, I will just resign. No need of forcing yourself in power. If people don't want it, it means they don't want you,' Trump appears to say in the clip. The clip was also published in other Instagram posts here and here. 'Ruto must go' Since taking office in 2022, Ruto's administration has faced criticism over a series of policies and actions that have exacerbated economic hardships and fuelled public outrage. Key among these was the Finance Bill 2024 which sparked countrywide protests last year (archived here). Marked by 'Ruto must go' chants, the demonstrations were marred by accusations of police brutality, including killings, arrests, and abductions of protesters and activists (archived here). Since then, the chants have grown popular at social gatherings and political rallies, leading Kenya's security chiefs to warn that those chanting must adhere to constitutional guidelines (archived here). However, the Instagram clip of Trump urging Ruto to listen to Kenyans and resign is altered. Doctored video AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches on keyframes from the clip and found the original footage published by BBC News on July 19, 2024 (archived here). 'Donald Trump addresses Republican convention in first speech since shooting,' reads the video's title. Comparisons show Trump in the same attire and in front of the same background in both videos. Image Screenshot of the altered post (left) and the original footage published by BBC News Trump was speaking at the Republican convention in Milwaukee, recounting the assassination attempt that occurred five days earlier, leaving him with a grazed right ear. The distinctive bandage he wore during the speech is slightly visible in the Instagram video when he turns his head. Image Screenshots of bandaged ear seen in altered post (left) and the original footage from BBC News In the address, also published by other news outlets, Trump made no mention of Ruto or Kenya (archived here and here). We also analysed the Instagram clip's audio through InVID-WeVerify's audio detection tool, and the results suggested strong evidence of voice cloning. Image A screenshot of InVID-WeVerify's voice cloning detector results, taken on May 19, 2025 We did not find any credible reports of Trump commenting on Kenyan politics. AFP Fact Check has recently debunked other Trump AI-generated claims.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Doctored clip falsely claims Kenya's Uhuru Kenyatta announced new bid for presidency
'Uhuru what's up? What have you decided?' reads the Swahili text overlay on a TikTok video published on March 18, 2025. The clip, shared more than 2,000 times, shows Kenyatta giving an address from behind a lectern with a presidential seal. 'Fellow Kenyans, in 2027 I will be vying for president. I've made a decision of coming back to politics in full force. Kindly, I would like to ask for your votes when the time comes,' Kenyatta appears to say. Kenyatta retired after leading the country from 2013-2022, meeting the two-term constitutional limit an individual can serve as president (archived here and here). He ruled alongside incumbent William Ruto, but their relationship soured before the end of their second term together (archived here). In the run-up to the 2022 general election, Kenyatta endorsed opposition leader Raila Odinga who lost to Ruto (archived here). As the country prepares for the 2027 general election, Kenyatta, who is still at odds with Ruto, has yet to publicly announce his preferred candidate. His Jubilee Party has, however, endorsed former interior cabinet secretary Fred Matiang'i (archived here). Ruto is determined to retain his seat and serve a second term as Kenya's leader (archived here). But the TikTok video purportedly showing Kenyatta announcing his intention to run for president again is doctored. AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches on keyframes from the clip and found the original footage published by Kenyan media outlet NTV on September 5, 2022 (archived here). The video's title reads: 'President Uhuru Kenyatta's speech after Supreme Court judgement.' At the time, Kenyatta was giving his views on the electoral process and the Supreme Court's verdict to uphold Ruto's win over Odinga. He vowed a smooth transition. In both videos, Kenyatta can be seen standing behind the same lectern, wearing a navy-blue shirt withs flags in the background. In the segment from the original video used in the TikTok clip, what Kenyatta actually says is: 'Fellow Kenyans, on August 9, 2022, Kenyans participated in an election that ushered in new leaders at all levels of our governance realm.' He does not talk about running for office in 2027. AFP Fact Check analysed the audio from the TikTok clip with InVID-WeVerify's audio detection tool. The results suggested strong evidence of voice cloning. We found no credible reports of Kenyatta announcing his intentions to vie for the presidency in 2027.
