New Delhi: An Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated video of Burkina Faso’s transitional President Ibrahim Traoré claiming that he has sealed a $14 billion grain deal with India, as he criticised the United States President Donald Trump, has gone viral on the microblogging site, X.
Circulated widely across the platform, the video was debunked by several X users, who pointed out that it was a deepfake. A community note was later attached to the post by users, identifying the video as misinformation. “These claims are false and fabricated. The video is AI-generated, which was created by a content creator for entertainment purposes,” the clarification read.
Reacting to the deepfake, Harleen Kaur, a researcher working with The Digital Futures Lab (DFL), told ThePrint that as AI technology advances, the quality of work that “malicious actors” are capable of is increasing proportionally. Harleen Kaur explained that deepfake creators realistically cannot be caught under “the existing legal framework”. The laws are not strong enough or specific enough to net malicious actors.
“Licenses cannot control bad actors,” she added, meaning even if companies that develop deepfake tools require licenses or agreements for use, that doesn’t stop malicious users from misusing the technology. Technical advancements in deepfake technology “make it difficult to detect the causal agents”, she added.
When ThePrint reached out to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to ask about the deepfake video, it responded saying that the video is wrong.
“While some deepfakes are benign, others, such as financial fraud, carry the risks of causing harm,” Harleen Kaur added. “In the end, deepfakes cause emotional manipulation on a large scale and will contribute to increasing distrust within digital ecosystems.”
Deepfake videos of Burkina Faso’s Traoré have gone viral earlier. According to a 2023 report in The Guardian, propaganda videos created with an AI tool, Synthesia, use models’ faces and likenesses without their knowledge or consent as if they’re delivering messages promoting the military junta. In an investigation, the New Lines Magazine later found hundreds of such AI-created videos on TikTok and YouTube, portraying Traoré launching satellites or inventing new technology—some with millions of views.
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What the AI video shows
In the video, Traoré can be seen announcing that the deal with India has been signed, adding, “So, when India signed this agreement, the world gasped, but we did not gasp. We had prepared for this day. We had measured the weight of our promise. We had planned the routes. And, we had forged the partnerships. The world was surprised, but we were ready.”
He can further be seen saying that he was asked, ‘Why India? Why not the United States, Europe, or the others who came before?’
And, he responds: “The answer is simple. The West came with chains disguised as contracts; they came with tariffs on our exports, squeezing every farmers’ sweat for their profit. They wanted our grains for cheap. But wanted to sell us their chemicals, their machines, and their promises at high prices. That is not partnership; that is exploitation.”
About India, Traoré can be seen explaining that India approached Burkina Faso not with tariffs but with trust. India offered Burkina Faso, with not only cash but also technology, irrigation, and storage.
“They respected our sovereignty. They did not ask us to bend our politics. They asked us only to deliver quality, and we agreed,” he says in the AI video.
He further adds that the US taxes Burkina Faso, pressures the nation, and when it refuses, the US lectures it when it resists.
Meanwhile, he says that India “invests when we grow, pays us fairly and listens when we speak,” adding that not because India is “perfect” but because it treats the people of Burkina Faso as “equals”. “And in this world, equality is the rarest grain of all.”
‘AI getting out of hand’
The post on X received more than eight lakh views and was widely reposted, gaining roughly 4,000 reshares, including quotes, some calling it an AI video while others believed it to be true.
When a user asked Grok, a conversational AI chatbot on X, if the video was authentic, it responded that the video appears to be AI-generated.
“Fact-checks from AFP, BBC, and France24 report similar anti-West speeches by Ibrahim Traoré as deepfakes, often in English (he typically speaks French). No official sources confirm a $14B India-Burkina Faso grain deal; it’s mostly viral claims. If you have more context, I can dig deeper,” it further added.
One user wrote: “Watch the reality of West and their Contracts. Now, I hope the Europeans will take us seriously after the when one of their own (Finland) has also warned them… Jain Hind.”
Another Indian user called Traoré a young, “upright” leader who will “transform his country”.
While many commented that it was AI-generated, the video also started a conversation on exploitation.
“It’s an AI video apparently,but it’s soo correct about the exploiters that milked africa in any way they had,of which africa hasnt coped uptil now Africa needs steadfast,loyal &true hearted ‘equal’partner….& i believe india could be the one(because we had identical gashes),” another user wrote.
Another comment went: “AI is getting out of hands….”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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