Fake news claiming Burkina Faso detained French spy spreads virally online

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Fake news claiming Burkina Faso detained French spy spreads virally online  Anti-Western disinformation is rampant in Burkina Faso and the wider Sahel, with analysts and governments claiming pro-Russian campaigns are undermining stability.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/19/fake-news-claiming-burkina-faso-detained-french-spy-spreads-virally-online  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00No, Burkina Faso has not arrested a French spy.

00:07AI-generated videos falsely claiming a French woman was arrested for espionage in Burkina

00:12Faso have spread virally online.

00:15They claim to show Claire Dubois, a French NGO worker, being summoned and detained by

00:21Burkina Faso's leader, Ibrahim Traore.

00:24The original video planting the story was first published on YouTube with this disclaimer,

00:29saying the story was a work of fiction.

00:32But that message has been removed in videos shared thousands of times on platforms such

00:36as TikTok, X and Facebook.

00:38This TikTok video was viewed over two million times.

00:42The fake news was then amplified by Russian state-sponsored media, despite it being initially

00:46labelled as fictional.

00:48Four French diplomats were released in Burkina Faso after being arrested for espionage back

00:53in December, but there is no evidence to suggest similar arrests have been made since.

00:59Burkina Faso, along with the neighbouring Niger al-Mali in the Sahel, are considered

01:03the epicenters of Russia's disinformation operations in Africa.

01:07Ibrahim Traore, Burkina Faso's leader, is a staunch Russian ally and earlier this month,

01:13travelled to Moscow to meet Putin during Victory Day celebrations.

01:17This is what he said in an interview with state-controlled media Russia Today.

01:22Traore, who is just 37, has built mass support in Burkina Faso and beyond with anti-Western rhetoric, particularly

01:23aimed at its former colonial ruler, France.

01:27Analysts say his popularity has been boosted by coordinated pro-Russian propaganda campaigns.

01:32Ibrahim Traore, who is just 37, has built mass support in Burkina Faso and beyond with anti-Western rhetoric, particularly

01:48aimed at its former colonial ruler, France.

01:51Analysts say his popularity has been boosted by coordinated pro-Russian propaganda campaigns.

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