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The rise of political instability in West Africa has seen an unsettling surge of successful military coups across the region in recent years. Countries such as Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Guinea-Bissau fell under military rule, while rumours thrived in Nigeria and the Ivory Coast.
The turmoil provided fertile ground for coup-related claims to go viral in 2025. Here are examples of fabricated news DUBAWA encountered that caught public attention amid the regional crisis.
- Video of Traore’s aide exposing coup, AI-generated
A video reel trended in June 2025, claiming that a supposed military attaché had publicly exposed a plot where conspirators attempted to bribe her with €500,000 to assassinate Traoré. The claim garnered thousands of reactions, exploiting public concern over the regime’s stability.
A fact-check by DUBAWA confirmed that the video was false and a sophisticated deepfake. Analysis using detection tools such as Deepware Scanner and Attestiv flagged the manipulation, with one model indicating a 98% probability that it was a deepfake. Also, the imagery of the military officer showed signs of AI generation, and no credible media organisation reported the alleged bribery. Read more here.
- 14-year-old video used to promote coup in the Ivory Coast
A claim of a military coup and Alassane Ouattara’s arrest in the Ivory Coast surfaced on X on May 22, 2025. The post, which garnered significant traction, showed a video of a supposed military operation and was celebrated by users criticising regional bodies like ECOWAS and perceived Western influence.
DUBAWA’s verification found the claim to be false. Keyword searches yielded no credible reports from local or international news outlets. The Ivorian government, ECOWAS, or the AU, did not release any official statement to validate the claim.
A reverse image search on the video traced the footage to April 2011, depicting the arrest of Ouattara’s predecessor, Laurent Gbagbo. Gbagbo was detained by pro-Ouattara forces after refusing to concede defeat in the 2010 election.
A day after the rumour circulated, Ouattara was confirmed to be actively discharging his duties by chairing a weekly Council of Ministers’ meeting. The claim was identified as Foreign Interference and Manipulation of Information (FIMI), likely originating from neighbouring countries, aimed at destabilising the Ivory Coast.
- The transitional president to lead for three years after the Guinea-Bissau coup
The TikTok account “BISSAU ELITE TV” falsely asserted that the armed forces had appointed a transitional president for a three-year term. This claim quickly gained traction amidst the political uncertainty.
However, verification confirmed the information was false. Guinea-Bissau’s national television (TGB) broadcast the swearing-in ceremony of the new leader, General Horta Inta-A, on Nov. 27, 2025.
Official reports confirmed that General Inta-A, designated by the Military High Command, was sworn in as the transitional president for a one-year term, contradicting the three-year claim that had gone viral.
- 2014 Cameroon video used to describe the outburst against the foiled Burkina Faso coup in 2025
After Burkinabe authorities linked a foiled coup plot to Côte d’Ivoire in April 2025, a Facebook video claimed to show a popular demonstration in Ibrahim Traoré’s support.
The post, shared by a user with a large following, suggested that the protest took place in Ouagadougou on April 20, 2025, just days after the foiled coup attempt.
Verification confirmed the claim was false due to both visual and contextual anomalies. The footage was old, out-of-context content. Key visual evidence, such as the yellow colour of the taxis visible in the video, confirmed the scene was recorded in Yaoundé, Cameroon, where taxis are yellow, not Ouagadougou, where they are traditionally green.
A reverse image search also traced the video’s source to a 2014 Facebook post during the funeral of Charles Ateba Eyene, a prominent Cameroonian political figure. Lastly, a local Burkinabe journalist confirmed there was no spontaneous citizen mobilisation of such magnitude on April 20, 2025.
