The Viral “Speech” by the Leader of the Military Junta in Burkina Faso Is Not Authentic

Photo: Picryl In May 2025, a supposed speech by the leader of the African state of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traoré, at the UN went viral on social media and several websites. The earliest available Facebook post of the “speech” at the time of writing this analysis dates back to May 21, 2025. According to claims in the post, Traoré delivered a speech at the UN “that not everyone liked”. In the transcript of the “speech” being shared in the local language, Traoré allegedly presents himself as “a soldier of his people, a guardian of a wounded land, a son of a continent that bore the cross of the world but never wore its crown”. He allegedly speaks about the African continent, its geopolitical position, and historical injustices. The “speech” criticizes Western countries for their treatment of Africa. The transcript includes, among other things, the following statements:

Africa is not rising to kneel, but to stand on its feet. And today, before this great assembly of nations, I say: Africa will not kneel. (…) For decades, you have offered us aid with one hand while draining our blood with the other. You build wells in our villages while your corporations dry up our rivers. (…) My ancestors were not consulted when borders were drawn with rulers and compasses in Berlin. The borders of Burkina Faso, like those of many African countries, were not shaped by our ancestors, but by people who never set foot on our soil, who knew nothing of our languages, tribes, or spirits. Today, colonialism has a new face – it wears suits, organizes forums, and signs contracts in Geneva, Paris, and Washington. (…) You call us “developing countries” – as if centuries of theft hadn’t set us back, as if the gold from our lands, the diamonds from our rivers, the oil beneath our feet didn’t build the skyscrapers in which this assembly now sits.

The “speech” was shared in dozens of posts on social media, some of which received a large number of interactions (1, 2, 3). The same text, attributed to the president of Burkina Faso, was published on May 22 by the website Epoha and on May 28 by the websites Istok and Provjeri (.net) websites. The articles on Epoha and Provjeri also included a YouTube link to a video allegedly showing the speech. The title and description of the video, published on May 17, also claim that the speech was delivered at the UN. The 8-minute-and-30-second video shows Traoré delivering a speech in military uniform. The frame does not show any details that would confirm where the speech was given. Traoré is allegedly speaking in English.

“Boosting” popularity

Ibrahim Traoré is the leader of the military junta in Burkina Faso. He came to power following a coup in 2022 (1, 2). As the BBC notes in an article about Traoré’s popularity, he has “skillfully crafted the image of a pan-African leader determined to liberate his nation from what he sees as ties to Western imperialism and neo-colonialism”. According to the Associated Press, his popularity is also fueled by his relationship with Russia, as well as by Russian propaganda. His popularity on social media is being artificially amplified through numerous disinformation campaigns about the alleged global support he enjoys. Various fact-checking platforms and media outlets around the world have already reported on fake videos in which Traoré is “supported” by figures such as Pope Leo, singer R. Kelly, singer Rihanna, and others (1, 2, 3, 4). The Observers published an article in May 2025 about deepfake videos in which support for Traoré is attributed to popular celebrities. According to the article, since the beginning of May, social media has been flooded with hundreds of such videos. “It’s clear that this is a coordinated campaign”, said Samba Dialimpa Badji, a disinformation and fact-checking researcher at OsloMet University in Norway. “Even if we don’t have evidence to prove that the government of Burkina Faso is behind this communications campaign, they are certainly benefiting from it”, the article states.

Is the Speech About the “New Face of Colonialism” Authentic?

Although Traoré promotes the idea of “liberating” his nation from imperialism and colonialism, the video of the supposed speech at the UN is not authentic. Searches for different parts of the speech in English yield no credible results confirming that Traoré delivered those words either at the UN or anywhere else (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). A search of the official United Nations digital library, where speeches delivered before UN bodies are available, also yields no results confirming that Traoré has given any speech at the UN (1, 2, 3). A fact-check analysis on this topic was published by our partner web portal Raskrinkavanje from Montenegro. The video of Traoré’s address was actually recorded during his meeting with the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. Footage from this meeting was published on May 10, 2025, on the YouTube channel “kremlin”. By comparing the clothing Traoré is wearing and the room he is in, it is clear that it is the same video, but the audio has been altered. In the original video, Traoré is not speaking in English. The video was published on the YouTube channel “kremlin” with English and Russian dubbing. The mentioned parts of the speech cannot be found in any of the videos or reports from the meeting. The earliest publication of the alleged video of Ibrahim Traoré addressing the UN that we found dates back to May 16 of this year, from the YouTube channel Pan-African Dreams. The description of this video clearly states that it is a work of fiction. “This video is a work of fiction inspired by the life of Ibrahim Traoré. While some elements are based on real events, the situations and dialogues portrayed are entirely fictional and do not reflect any real-life events. Any resemblance to real-life facts is purely coincidental”, the description states. Although due to the video’s virality and the number of posts, it is not possible to reliably claim this was the earliest appearance of the video, considering all the other stated facts, this description confirms that the video was created using artificial intelligence. Therefore, although parts of the viral “speech” match the narrative that Ibrahim Traoré promotes, there is no evidence that he gave such a speech at the United Nations. The video of this alleged speech is not authentic. Since, due to the passage of time, it is not possible to determine where the claim that this speech was delivered at the UN by Traoré was first published in our language, all analyzed posts on social media receive the rating of distribution of fake news. The article from the web portal Epoha, as the earliest media publication of this claim, receives the rating of fake news. Other articles receive the rating distribution of fake news. (Author: Marija Ćosić, Raskrinkavanje.ba)