By Yemi Sodeeq
Image Source: jcoydenreports.com
Claim: An X user posted a video in which the Former US President, Donald Trump, is heard talking about the Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Verdict: This is false. DUBAWA’s checks revealed that the video had been doctored. Since Tinubu was elected, the former US president has never commented on his administration.
Full Text
A video of the former President of the United States of America (USA), Donald Trump, commenting on the administration of President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has surfaced online.
The video posted by an X user, @Ogunyemi71132779, follows the current and prevailing socio-economic challenges facing the country under President Tinubu, who took over the reins of power on May 29, 2023.
The comment from the said video can be connected with recent policy reforms by President Tinubu in the face of the prevailing socioeconomic challenges facing the nation.
As of March 5, the post has had 215 comments, 321 reposts, 340 likes, and 83,000 views.
“You Nigerians are so ridiculous. Tinubu has been in office barely 10 months, working his tail off and all you people do is whine and whine….. you are lucky it’s not me that’s your president. I will have the whole bunch of you locked up in prison,” the former US President said in the video.
@TaiwoKazeemOla1 first posted the video on the same date and was shared by other users.
A news website also published an article referencing the X post of @Ogunyemi71132779 indicating how the former US president had commented on President Tinubu’s administration.
Given how viral the claim has gone, DUBAWA decided to investigate it.
Verification
To ascertain the video’s veracity, DUBAWA examined and discovered some features that raised doubts about the authenticity of the footage because it had ‘Made with TryParrotAI.com’ at the bottom right corner.
The description of the app, “Parrot AI is the top celebrity voice generator,” suggests that the video was generated by Artificial intelligence (AI) as the app’s name implies “Parrot AI.”
After breaking the footage into keyframes, a Google Reverse Image search also led us to the same video, which has been manipulated to serve another purpose in this post.
With Tineye, one of the keyframes of the footage also led us to an interview with former President Trump on NBC News in 2017. It was an interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt published on May 12, 2017.
However, the audio in the video does not synchronise with the president’s lip movements in the authentic speech, although the voice is similar to that of Trump.
Further, DUBAWA’s thorough checks revealed that no significant, credible news outlet in the US or Nigeria had reported about the comments attributed to Trump.
Conclusion
The video about Former President Trump commenting on President Tinubu is AI-generated. It is a manipulated version of former US President Donald Trump with NBC News in 2017.
This report was produced for DUBAWA 2024 Kwame KariKari Fellowship in partnership with The Informant247 to facilitate the ethos of “truth” in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country.
