Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary (PS) Dr. Korir Sing’Oei has come under fire for posting an AI-generated deepfake on his official X account, highlighting Kenya’s role in peace diplomacy in Sudan.
The video, designed to appear as a CNN broadcast, falsely featured journalist Fareed Zakaria discussing Kenya’s involvement in the peace efforts.
Sing’Oei captioned the video: “For the fake analysts who doubt the good faith of Kenya’s peace diplomacy, here is a cogent assessment by CNN’s Foreign Policy expert, Fareed Zakaria.”
The caption suggests that Sing’Oei was trying to present the deepfake video as legitimate evidence of Kenya’s successful peace diplomacy efforts, falsely using the image of a well-known journalist to lend credibility to his claims.
The video quickly attracted criticism from Kenyans on X, who called out Sing’Oei for misleading the public by using AI-generated media to promote a government narrative.
“I had to double-check to make sure this wasn’t a parody account. It’s both disturbing and embarrassing to see the Principal Secretary of Foreign Affairs sharing a deepfake on X. This is what happens when key diplomatic positions are handed out based on tribal loyalty rather than merit and expertise. A nation’s foreign policy deserves better than reckless misinformation from those entrusted with representing it on the global stage,” X user Mohamed Onyango said.
“Wow! Calling analysts “fake” while using a deepfake AI video is a new low. @CNN and @FareedZakaria, your attention is needed here,” X User Antony Alexandria Irungu added.
Other X users raised concerns about the potential ramifications the video could have for Kenya’s reputation on the international stage, fearing it could damage the country’s credibility in diplomatic circles.
“Is it conceivable that a whole PS @ForeignOfficeKEcould knowingly post an AI generated video of an internationally renowned journalist ? Did you not consider the international embarrassment that will hit Kenya once @LarryMadowo picks up on this story?,” said Arap Muk.
Veteran investigative journalist John Allan Namu added, “These jokes write themselves,” highlighting the irony of the situation.
Citizen Digital conducted a simple forensic analysis to identify the authenticity of the video – one could easily tell it’s fake by the video’s poor quality, the fact that Fareed Zakaria’s mouth movements did not match the sound, the graphic overlay (lower third) placed at the bottom of the screen appears amateurish and neither CNN nor Zakaria shared the video on their respective platforms.
Not too long after a barrage of attacks and ridicule from all corners, Sing’oei deleted the video – but the damage, judging by the over 60,000 views it had already accumulated, appears to have already been done.
Kenya’s recent blunders, from the M23 rebels situation in Congo, to the recent loss of Raila Odinga’s stab at the AUC seat, coupled with the just-concluded Rapid Support Forces gathering at the historic KICC, has badly dented the nation’s foreign policy and hugely weakened it’s standing on matters diplomacy.
