IN SHORT: A viral video shows Citizen TV's Yvonne Okwara interviewing businessperson Jimi Wanjigi, who appears to be promoting a high-return investment platform. But the video is a deepfake.
A video on Facebook shows Yvonne Okwara, a journalist at Kenya's Citizen TV, seemingly interviewing business executive and politician Jimi Wanjigi about a money-making "investment opportunity".
The video has a banner that reads: "The government investment platform guarantees an income of 450,000 Kes per week. Invest 32,200 Kes today and receive your first payment to your bank account tomorrow."
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The scene appears to be set in the studio of Citizen TV, the most-watched channel in the country. The KSh450,000 mentioned translates to about US$3,450, while KSh32,200 is about $250.
In the video, Okwara reports that many Kenyans are retiring early thanks to a new government-backed financial platform. Wanjigi then explains how viewers can earn large sums of money each week through this platform.
He claims the platform uses "unique technology" and "artificial intelligence" to trade automatically, promising big profits with minimal effort. He insists that access will be granted to only a few people and urges viewers to act quickly.
Okwara then asks questions that lead Wanjigi to explain the sign-up process: click a link, enter personal details, and be contacted by a "personal manager" who will guide you through it.
The video is running as an ad on Facebook. We found at least 12 active versions of it in the Facebook Ads Library, all of which are being promoted by the same account. The video has already received over 286,000 views.
The context
As both Okwara and Wanjigi are public figures, their appearance in the video lends it an air of trustworthiness. Their lip movements also appear to match the words they're saying, making the video appear genuine.
Although it initially requests a substantial payment of KSh32,000 and requires the disclosure of personal information, the offer in the video appears very tempting.
In recent years, scammers have started using AI and deepfake technology to create fake interviews and news segments that appear genuine. These videos are used to trick people, particularly when they feature public figures or claim to have government backing. Africa Check has exposed such scams before.
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So, is this video real or another deepfake? We checked.
Video is a deepfake scam
On closer inspection, it is clear that the lip movements are slightly off and unnatural.
Searching for "Wanjigi Okwara interview Citizen TV" on YouTube brings up the original video from August 2024. In it, Wanjigi discusses his views on the political and economic situation in Kenya, not an investment platform.
There are also several warning signs that this is an investment scam. For example, it promises very high profits, such as earning over KSh130,000 ($1,000) per week from an initial investment of just KSh32,000. This is a common get-rich-quick claim.
The video also creates a false sense of urgency by claiming that the offer is only available to a select few and that the link will expire soon. It claims not to be a scam, yet acts just like one. It uses vague technical terms, such as "AI" and "automated trading", without providing any clear explanations.
It asks for personal information and promises that a manager will call, which is a common scam tactic. The speech sounds stiff and unnatural, like a scripted sales pitch rather than a genuine news interview.
The video is a deepfake scam that uses public figures without their permission to mislead the public.
