AI-manipulated TikTok video falsely depicts Starmer–Trump call
A manipulated video posted to TikTok falsely depicted UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking with US president-elect Donald Trump, combining footage from an official Downing Street Paralympics video with audio of uncertain origin. The video reached nearly one million views before being fact-checked and identified as synthetic media.
What happened
A 19-second manipulated video posted to TikTok on November 5, 2024 at 22:34:28 GMT falsely showed Sir Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in a phone call with US president-elect Donald Trump.
The video was created by editing footage from an official Downing Street video of Sir Keir calling members of the British Paralympics team in August 2024 and adding audio of an uncertain origin that sounds like Mr Trump saying 'things I don't like when talking to me' rather than engaging with the Prime Minister.
The manipulated video was posted approximately 12 hours before news organisations declared Mr Trump the winner of the 2024 US presidential election and before Sir Keir actually spoke to Mr Trump on November 6.
Reported impact
The video was seen nearly a million times on TikTok, spreading false information about a conversation between the Prime Minister and the president-elect.
Index analysis
The footage of Sir Keir was taken from a Downing Street YouTube video from August 2024 showing him calling members of the British Paralympics team, including the greeting 'It's Keir here' and the phrase 'just wanted to chat to you before you go out to the Paralympics'.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.