Deepfake video of Gabon's President Ali Bongo leads to coup attempt
In December 2018, the government of Gabon released a New Year's address video of President Ali Bongo, who had been absent from public view due to a stroke. Critics and political opponents alleged the video was a deepfake, citing unnatural facial movements and blinking patterns. The controversy contributed to an unsuccessful coup attempt by the military one week later. The authenticity of the video remains unconfirmed, with experts divided on whether it was manipulated.
- Date it happened
- 2019-01-01
- Organisation involved
- Government of Gabon
This incident was imported from motherjones.com. Our additions to it — the structured fields, the translation, the checks against other reports — are published under the same licence.
This is a record of what was reported, not a finding that anyone broke the law. If it names your organisation and you believe it is wrong, the corrections process is free and open to everyone.