Gabonese President Ali Bongo was absent from public life throughout much of 2018 due to his receiving medical treatments abroad in London and Saudi Arabia. As his absence persisted, and news of his whereabouts sparse, some began to question his condition and even declare him to be dead.
The government put out vague and at times conflicting statements about Bongo’s health. Then, on December 31 2018, he appeared in a video to deliver a new year’s address.
Video no longer available. The December 31, 2018 New Year’s address has been removed from YouTube.
For stills and a frame-by-frame account of the video and the reaction to it, see Ali Breland’s investigation in Mother Jones (opens in a new tab).
Bongo’s stilted movements and the staged quality of the video caused many (including political rival Bruno Ben Moubamba) to declare the video a deepfake, used to cover up his poor condition.
Sensing an opportunity to seize power during this period of instability, members of Gabon’s military then attempted a coup (which was ultimately unsuccessful).
Forensic analysis of the video has not revealed that it was, in fact, a deepfake. His appearance was most likely the result of makeup, poor health, and cosmetic surgery.
ReferencesAli Breland, “The Bizarre and Terrible Case of the ‘Deepfake Video’ that Helped Bring an African Nation to the Brink,” Mother Jones, March 15, 2019. Sarah Cahlan, “How Misinformation Helped Spark a Coup in Gabon,” Washington Post, February 13, 2020. Povo News video on YouTube, “Gabon President Ali Bongo 2019 New Years Message,” December 31, 2018 (no longer available). Background theme image from Shutterstock.