Purported Synthesia Avatars Used in Alleged Pro-Junta Deepfake Video Supporting Ibrahim Traoré in Burkina Faso
Description
In January 2023, purportedly AI-generated videos reportedly began circulating on WhatsApp and social media showing avatars of apparent American pan-Africanists expressing support for Burkina Faso's military junta. The videos were reportedly 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.
Actors
Alleged Deployers
- pro-ibrahim-traore-information-ecosystem
- unknown-actors
Alleged Developers
- synthesia
Harmed Parties
- general-public-of-burkina-faso
- general-public
- epistemic-integrity
- national-security-and-intelligence-stakeholders
- general-public-of-west-africa
Classification
Risk Domain
Malicious Actors & MisuseRisk Subdomain
4.1. Disinformation, surveillance, and influence at scale
MIT Risk Profile
Source
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