A video generated with artificial intelligence (AI) has purportedly shown Elon Musk, the CEO of microblogging platform X, and Drake, the Canadian rapper, praising Nigeria during an interview.
The AI video has been shared on social media platforms like WhatsApp, YouTube, and TikTok.
Reverse image searches of keyframes in the video showed that a TikTok user first posted the AI-generated video — @officialdahlilphem — on September 8.
The TikTok user has over 17,000 followers, and the video has gathered over 13,000 views, 1,300 likes, and 32 comments.
The video was captioned “Drake interview with Elon Musk concerning Nigerians”.
Screenshot of the TikTok video
In the video, the deep fake voice of Drake said Nigeria is one of the best countries in Africa with talented musicians and comedians.
“Nigeria is one of the best African countries. I would like to go with. It is literally what I say that they are the best in Africa with great talent because they know that they are doing. Great job,” the voice said.
Responding, the digitally altered voice of Musk agreed with what Drake said.
“They have talented musicians, best gamers, and again, they are so clever,” he purportedly said.
Drake’s digitally altered voice also referenced the recent social media rivalry between Nigeria and South Africa that led to the Bolt saga.
The TikTok user also posted the same video on his YouTube channel.
The video can be viewed here and archived here.
VERIFICATION
A close assessment of the video showed that the facial features of both Drake and Musk appear to have been grossly distorted, especially the mouth region. This is one of the major indications of AI-generated or manipulated videos.
Online searches by TheCable also indicate that the video clip of Drake was obtained from an interview he had with Miles Parks McCollum, an American rapper, popularly known as Lil Yachty.
The interview was posted on YouTube on February 24, 2023.
The background of the interview appeared to have been shot beside a beach.
A part of Drake’s interview was digitally merged with a video of Musk to make it look like both men spoke about Nigeria in an interview.
Another look at the AI-generated video showed that the images of Musk and Drake are from different backgrounds.
Screenshots showing different backgrounds of Elon Musk and Drake’s pictures
VERDICT
The TikTok video showing Musk and Drake praising Nigeria is an AI-generated video.
