Description: In January 2023, AI-generated videos began circulating on WhatsApp and social media showing avatars of purported American pan-Africanists expressing support for Burkina Faso's military junta. The videos were created using the Synthesia platform. Synthesia later confirmed the videos violated its terms of service and banned the user. The source of the videos remains unidentified. The clips were shared widely
Editor Notes: This incident reportedly occurred around 01/23/2023. It was added to the AI Incident Database on 06/01/2025.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Synthesia developed an AI system deployed by Unknown actors and Pro-Ibrahim Traoré information ecosystem, which harmed Truth and General public of Burkina Faso.
Incident Stats
Incident ID
1091
Report Count
1
Incident Date
2023-01-23
Editors
Daniel Atherton
Incident Reports
Reports Timeline
Bizarre AI-generated videos of people expressing support for Burkina Faso's new military junta have appeared online, in what could be a clumsy attempt to spread pro-military propaganda.
It's unclear who created the videos, but it appears th…
Variants
A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
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