From Beyoncé to R. Kelly, AI music videos praise Burkina Faso’s junta leader Ibrahim Traoré

Since the beginning of May, a surge of music videos singing the praises of Ibrahim Traoré, Burkina Faso’s military leader, voiced by top English-speaking singers. These are deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence, featuring stars like Beyonce, Justin Bieber, R. Kelly, Rihanna — and experts say it could be a “coordinated campaign.” The France 24 Observers did a deep dive into when and why this wave of English pro-Traoré content began appearing. Vedika Bahl talks us through it.