Fake Videos of R Kelly, Pope Spread Cult of Burkina Junta Chief

If you believe the viral videos online, R Kelly and Pope Leo XIV agree on one thing - that Burkina Faso's junta chief, Captain Ibrahim Traore, is a fantastic leader.

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Abidjan - If you believe the viral videos online, R Kelly and Pope Leo XIV agree on one thing - that Burkina Faso's junta chief, Captain Ibrahim Traore, is a fantastic leader.

The images are AI-generated propaganda, part of what experts have called a vast disinformation campaign spreading the "personality cult" of the west African country's strongman.

Beyonce and Justin Bieber are among the other celebrities to have their faces and voices altered through artificial intelligence to shower praise on Traore.

In one video, attributed to R&B star Kelly, the lyrics praise Traore, who seized power in a 2022 coup: "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."

Kelly is serving a 30-year prison sentence in the US, yet the song generated by artificial intelligence has been viewed more than two million times since it came out in May.

The images have been shared on west African social media.