Ibrahim Traoré, a young African captain, won the admiration of most Africans and peoples around the world, not because he overthrew the previous administration by a bloodless coup, but because of his policy and his singular initiative.
Ibrahim Traoré took the fate of his country in hand and he chose a trajectory towards more sovereignty. Some sees in Traoré as a new “messiah” because it is a miracle that would have escaped more than 18 assassination attempts.
Recently, a video dated April 1, 2025 and which has become viral on Tiktok, says that under the chairmanship of Traoré, Burkina Faso would now be a tax -free country. The publication, relayed by the Pan Africa TV , recorded more than 1.3 million views , 94,600 likes , more than 8,000 comments and 22,500 shares .
The video, titled "Ibrahim Traoré declares that Burkina Faso is a nation free from taxes" , features a false presenter of television news with a voice-over relaying this supposed announcement. She even goes so far as to claim that Elon Musk, CEO of X (ex-Twitter), would plan to relocate her businesses to Burkina Faso to benefit from this tax policy. Other equally spectacular claims evoke imminent sanctions on the part of Western countries.
An extract also shows Ibrahim Traoré speaking during an event, presented as the moment of the announcement of this tax exemption.
But a verification is essential.
Thanks to an inverted image search carried out with Google Lens, Cablecheck found the origin of the clip : it is actually a speech delivered by Traoré on August 23, 2024, during the day of academic excellence in Burkina Faso. No passage mentions a deletion of the tax.
In addition, the Pan Africa TV page, at the origin of the video, is known to regularly produce pro-regime content, including many Deepfakes. She broadcasts videos highlighting Captain Traoré, his policies and her style of governance, often by manipulating images and remarks.
This is not the first time that this type of disinformation has been to embellish the figure of Ibrahim Traoré. In the past, rumors have said, wrongly, that he had abandoned the CFA franc, or that he had refused an invitation from President Donald Trump - an assertion for which no concrete evidence was found. Other little credible sources have also relayed that he had established a free education for all, launched a plant of electric vehicles or reimbursed the entire exterior debt of the country.
If Traoré actually carries out a break in rupture, by refusing the return to a civil regime ECOWAS country , these media manipulations question: are the facts exaggerated? Do the media help build a surface image of a head of state presented as a savior?
Today, many contents - mixing authentic images and videos generated by artificial intelligence - circulate to embellish the image of the Burkinabè military regime. It is legitimate to wonder to what extent these productions participate in the manufacture of a myth around Ibrahim Traoré.
In conclusion, the assertion that Burkina Faso has become a tax without taxes is false. Viral video is based on Deepfake montages and the reuse of out -of -context extracts. This episode illustrates the growing dangers of disinformation fueled by AI in Africa, and recalls the responsibility of platforms, but also that of citizens, faced with these new forms of manipulation.
Written by Ani Charity Kosisochukwu
