Someone Made AI Videos of ‘Americans’ Backing a Military Coup in West Africa
Amnesty International (AI) video generator Synthesia confirmed to VICE World News the “Pan-Africanist” video backing Burkina Faso’s military rulers had been made using its software but would not reveal who had created them.
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 they are being shared via WhatsApp.
One of the videos was shared widely on Twitter this week when it was shared by Lauren Blanchard, a specialist in African affairs at the Congressional Research Service in the US. Blanchard said that the video had been circulating on WhatsApp but did not know who had made it.
“Hello to the African people and particularly to the Burkinabe people. My name is Alisha and I’m a Pan-Africanist,” says one figure in the video, which VICE World News has confirmed was created by the AI video generator Synthesia.
Synthesia said that it had banned the user who created the videos but would not reveal their identity.
The AI-generated avatar in the video continues: “I appeal to the solidarity of the Burkinabe people, and the people of Burkina Faso to effectively support the authorities of the transition.”
“Let us all remain mobilised by the Burkinabe people in this struggle. Homeland or death. We shall overcome.”
The video has appeared alongside a similar clip, featuring several different avatars but reading the same script, also created using Synthesia.
The second video was posted on Facebook on the 23rd of January by Ibrahima Maiga, who describes himself as a Sahelian political scientist from Burkina Faso. Maiga, who has posted in support of the country’s new regime, told VICE World News via Facebook Messenger that he had found the video on WhatsApp before posting it to Facebook, and that he was not aware that it had been created with AI.
He appears to have deleted the video shortly after VICE World News contacted him.
Burkina Faso is currently ruled by Interim President Ibrahim Traore, who seized power in a coup in September. The army now runs the West African country, having claimed that previous governments had failed to halt the spread of jihadist violence. Read more from original source
