PesaCheck

This video on Facebook claiming to show Russian President Vladimir Putin expressing support for Burkina Faso’s interim President Ibrahim Traoré is ALTERED.

The text accompanying the video states, “Burkina Faso 🇧🇫 President Ibrahim Traore. Wahala.”

The video depicts Putin dressed in a black suit and a maroon tie, making an address.

In the video, Putin purportedly voices support for Traore, stating “…. I am behind you. You have a good heart. If they touch you, they touch me. I promise never to let you down. I want to open the eyes of Africans, there is no France without Africa, these people are very wicked and they have brainwashed Africa.”

A close examination of the video reveals that Putin’s head appears to detach from his neck as he speaks, an indication that the footage may have been edited using artificial intelligence. Additionally, Putin rarely speaks English in public appearances. Most of his official addresses, interviews, and press conferences are conducted in Russian, as shown here, here, here, and here.

Traoré, who came to power in Burkina Faso following a coup in September 2022, has become a prominent figure in Africa’s anti-colonial discourse.

But is the video authentic?

PesaCheck used a screenshot from the video to perform a reverse image search on Google Lens. The results led us to a 2016 article featuring an image of Vladimir Putin wearing the same attire, seated in the same position, and with the same background as seen in the video under scrutiny.

The photo was also published on another website, which specifies that it was taken during Putin’s annual press conference at Moscow’s World Trade Center on 23 December 2016.

Using this information, PesaCheck conducted a keyword search that led to the original video, published on the Russian president’s official website in 2016, well before Ibrahim Traoré became president. There was no mention of Traoré during the press conference.

Additionally, PesaCheck analysed the video using AI detector tool DeepFake O meter, which confirmed that the clip is 80 per cent AI-generated.

PesaCheck has examined a Facebook video claiming to show Russian President Vladimir Putin expressing support for Burkina Faso’s interim President Ibrahim Traoré and found it to be ALTERED.

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