IN SHORT: A number of videos appearing to show Kenyan president William Ruto announcing his resignation for failing to lead the country are gaining attention on social media. However, they are fabricated.
Videos that appear to show Kenyan president William Ruto saying that he is resigning and will not seek re-election in the 2027 general election are circulating on Facebook and TikTok.
In the first video, Ruto appears to say: "I am tired and I have accepted I have failed to rule this country. 2027 is too far. I have accepted it is cone term."
One version is overlaid with text that reads: "Ruto has accepted that he is a one term President."
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The video was first published on TikTok, where it has been viewed over 1.4 million times but has since been deleted.
The second video appears to show Ruto saying: "Kenyans, you have said that Ruto must go. I agree I am a failure and I must go. I was not ready to be president. I just wanted to get rich. I didn't want to be a leader. I am ready to go." It has accumulated over 48,000 views.
Another video posted online appears to be a news report about his resignation.
Young Kenyans, commonly referred to as generation Z or Gen Z, took to the streets on 25 June 2025 to commemorate the June 2024 demonstrations, which were sparked by that year's unpopular Finance Bill. The protests then evolved into calls for Ruto to resign, with demonstrators accusing his administration of bad governance.
The demonstrators have often chanted "Ruto must go" and, more recently, "One term".
The Kenyan constitution limits the president to two five-year terms. Ruto has already hinted that he will run in and win the 2027 general election.
But has he conceded and resigned, as the video claims? We checked.
AI-generated videos
A closer look at both videos reveals a watermark labeled "AI" in the top-left corner - the first and clearest indication that the videos may have been generated using an artificial intelligence tool. AI tools use computer algorithms to perform tasks typically done by humans, such as answering questions, writing code, and creating images or videos.
However, these tools can sometimes make mistakes that are noticeable to the human eye. In the videos Ruto's face appears significantly distorted. Additionally, his gestures while speaking are clearly unnatural - his eyes look strangely lazy and fixed in one place and his mouth opens unusually wide. These are strong indicators that the videos were AI-generated.
Some AI-generated videos are produced by animating still images or photographs.
To investigate this, we conducted a reverse image search using a screenshot from the first video and found the original photo. It was taken on 18 June 2025, during an event where Ruto was addressing delegates from Kisumu county in western Kenya at his official residence in Nairobi.
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A reverse image search of a screenshot from the second video reveals that it was taken from a 24 June event where Ruto was meeting athletes, also at State House.
If the president had indeed resigned, the news would have been reported by both local and international media. However, we found no credible reports confirming such a development.
These videos make false claims and should be ignored.
