Description: A reported wave of allegedly AI-generated and misleading media content promoting Burkina Faso's junta leader Ibrahim Traoré has been circulating. Investigators described videos attributing development projects to Traoré, reportedly part of a campaign by Russian-linked media to support junta regimes across the Sahel. Experts warned of the campaign's destabilizing effects and its potential to normalize military rule and foreign ideological influence.
Editor Notes: This incident is part of a cluster of reported deepfake videos circulated online to promote Ibrahim Traoré’s leadership, all of which are seemingly contributing to a wider disinformation campaign linked to pro-junta sentiment. The cluster seems to have arisen in March 2025 and continued through to at least the end of May 2025. See also Incident 1091 for a 2023 deepfake incident involving similar themes.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Unknown deepfake technology developer developed an AI system deployed by Unknown actors , Pro-Ibrahim Traoré information ecosystem and Government of Russia, which harmed Truth , General public of West Africa and General public of Burkina Faso.
Alleged implicated AI systems: Unknown deepfake technology and Social media
Incident Stats
Incident ID
1095
Report Count
1
Incident Date
2025-05-30
Editors
Daniel Atherton
Incident Reports
Reports Timeline
Throughout West Africa it has become difficult to avoid the blitz of viral videos, memes and social media posts glorifying the military rulers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Experts say that there has been a calculated campaign to elevate…
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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