IN SHORT: A viral video on Instagram claims US president Donald Trump said he would resign if he were Kenya's under-pressure president William Ruto. However, the video has been altered using artificial intelligence tools and is fake.
A video posted on Instagram shows US president Donald Trump standing at a podium and appearing to say: "If I was the president of Kenya today and see all that is happening, I would just resign. No need of forcing yourself in power. If people don't want it, means they don't want you."
The video is further captioned: "Trump telling the president of Kenya to do what Kenyans want." It has received over 32,000 likes. It was also shared on Facebook here.
But is the video accurate? We checked.
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The context
The video surfaced amid growing criticism of some of Kenyan president William Ruto's policies.
In mid-2024, widespread youth-led protests broke out over a controversial proposed finance bill, reviving the popular slogan "Ruto must go". Several protesters were killed, and there have been multiple reports of abductions since then, which have drawn condemnation from Kenyans and human rights groups.
Pressure from the protests forced Ruto to withdraw the bill and dismiss his entire cabinet. He later abandoned unpopular deals such as a controversial airport modernisation project.
Ruto later formed a working agreement with veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, but then clashed with his former deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, who was subsequently impeached. Gachagua has joined the opposition and continued to strongly criticise Ruto. Other former allies, including former cabinet secretaries Justin Muturi and Mithika Linturi, have also criticised Ruto's leadership and joined the opposition.
Although Ruto has been trying to forge closer political ties with Odinga's supporters, a recent viral incident has sparked debate online. During a recent visit to Migori, a south-western Kenyan county and an Odinga stronghold, he was hit with a shoe while addressing a crowd, thrown by someone in the crowd.
The viral clip appeared around this time, suggesting that Trump had weighed in on Kenya's politics.
Video fake
But the video has been digitally altered. A reverse image search shows the clip was taken from Trump's speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on 18 July 2024, during which he officially accepted the party's nomination for the US presidential election.
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During a rally in Pennsylvania days earlier, a bullet missed Trump, only grazing his right ear. He wore a bandage on his ear during the RNC speech. The same bandage can be seen briefly in the viral video when Trump turns his head, confirming that the video is from the same period.
Furthermore, there is no evidence in US or Kenyan media that Trump has commented on Kenyan politics or made such a statement. If he had, it would have been widely reported.
The clip has been digitally altered using technology which uses artificial intelligence tools to mimic voices. This technology can be used to edit a video, synchronising someone's lip movements with fake audio. This can make it appear as though the person in the video is saying something they did not say.
This AI technology was used to make it seem like Trump had made the remarks about Kenya. Fake videos of Trump, like this one, have become increasingly common and are frequently debunked.
The video claiming that Trump publicly suggested that Ruto should resign is fake.
