AI-generated video falsely depicts Trump criticizing Gachagua
A deepfake video circulated on Facebook purporting to show US President Trump attacking former Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, but fact-checkers confirmed it was fabricated. The video emerged days after Trump's inauguration and referenced other deepfake videos depicting the same individuals.
What happened
A video circulated on Facebook appearing to show US President Donald Trump referring to former Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua as 'an idiot', 'a criminal', and 'a terrible guy', and criticizing him for abuse of artificial intelligence. The video was identified as fake by Africa Check.
The video appeared shortly after Trump's inauguration on 20 January 2025, in reference to two earlier deepfake videos that had circulated in Kenya depicting Laura Ingraham reporting on Gachagua's attendance at the inauguration and Trump acknowledging Gachagua's presence while condemning Kenyan President William Ruto.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.