NAIROBI, Kenya — If you’ve recently seen R. Kelly serenading Burkina Faso’s military leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré—or Pope Leo XIV applauding his governance—don’t adjust your screen. You’ve just stumbled into the AI-fueled disinformation campaign that’s redefining digital propaganda across West Africa.
Welcome to the uncanny world of deepfake diplomacy, where AI-generated videos are being used to promote Traoré’s image as a heroic pan-African liberator.
From Beyoncé to Justin Bieber, celebrities are being digitally reprogrammed to sing the junta chief’s praises, as Burkina Faso dives headfirst into a high-stakes information war.
One viral video, attributed to the now-imprisoned R&B star R. Kelly, features lyrics like: “for the love of his people, he risked it all… bullets fly but he don’t fall… he’s fighting for peace in his motherland.”
The song, created entirely with artificial intelligence, has been viewed more than two million times since May—despite the fact that Kelly is serving a 30-year sentence in the U.S. for sex crimes.
These digital illusions are being widely shared across West African platforms, pushing a carefully crafted narrative at a time when the region is already reeling from multiple coups, jihadist insurgencies, and mounting political tension. And it’s not just local audiences being targeted.
According to a U.S.-based researcher, these AI-driven campaigns are part of a broader effort to export Captain Traoré’s “personality cult” beyond Burkina Faso, particularly into English-speaking nations like Nigeria and Ghana.
The goal? To position Traoré as a fearless anti-imperialist icon battling Western influence in Africa.
Traoré seized power in a 2022 coup with promises to restore national control amid escalating violence by jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Nearly three years later, those attacks have only intensified. Yet rather than accountability, what’s emerging is a well-oiled machine of narrative control—online and offline.
And the propaganda machine is no amateur operation. Investigators say the junta’s cyber apparatus, known as the Rapid Communication Intervention Battalions (BIR-C), functions like a digital army.
Run by U.S.-based activist Ibrahima Maiga, the group denies direct ties to foreign actors like Russia.
Still, their anti-West messaging plays neatly into Russia’s own media strategy, and experts believe Moscow is amplifying the message.
“There are confirmed links between Russian disinformation campaigns and recent online content targeting Nigeria and Ghana,” the U.S. researcher noted. “Destabilising Nigeria, in particular, would have far-reaching regional effects.”
Journalist Philip Obaji, who tracks Russian influence in Africa, says media outlets in Burkina Faso and Togo have received payments from Kremlin-linked operatives to amplify pro-Traoré messaging.
Meanwhile, Burkina Faso’s junta has expelled international journalists and forced local outlets into silence, threatening dissenting reporters with prison—or front-line military deployment.
Even the diaspora isn’t immune. Burkinabe citizens abroad attempting to challenge the pro-junta spin find themselves walking a dangerous line.
Commenting on jihadist attacks, even when quoting official reports, risks being labeled as glorifying terrorism—a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
