DEEPFAKE: Viral video showing a man tug the ear of Kylian Mpabbe is not real
Multiple manipulated videos showing a man tugging the ear of French football star, Kylian Mpabbe have gone viral on X (Twitter).
🚨 FLASH – Vidéo exclusive : Wilfrid Mbappé adresse des remontrances à Kylian Mbappé pour ses humeurs changeantes concernant son futur au PSG. pic.twitter.com/8qvgttCDDS
With more than 7 million views on the microblogging app, the video was shared on August 28, 2023, and captioned “FLASH – Exclusive video: Wilfrid Mbappé reprimands Kylian Mbappé for his changing moods regarding his future at PSG.”
Another X user reposted the same video and asked: “Wait this is Mbappe?” and his post has since been viewed 10 million times.
A screenshot of the viral AI-generated video
Who is Kylian Mbappe?
Kylian Mbappe is a football star who currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team.
Kylian Mbappe played in the French side that won the 2018 World Cup in Russia, becoming the first teenager since Brazil legend Pele to score in a World Cup final and was awarded the FIFA Best Young Player award.
Fact-check
GhanaFact has found that the X account, French AI Covers, where the video emerged, has issued a debunk in the comment section below the post that indicated that the video is not original but AI-generated.
“This video is a parody and was generated with an AI (deepfake). Don’t believe the videos your uncles send you on WhatsApp,” the page indicated.
A screenshot of a disclaimer posted by French AI Covers
Scanning through the page of French AI Covers, GhanaFact found that the page has shared a number of manipulated videos of the PSG forward Kylian Mbappe.
More importantly, GhanaFact also discovered that the X account French AI Covers is a parody account with the following disclaimer in the bio section: “Your favorite voices on the classics this is a parody account!” with multiple accounts on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
A screenshot of the bio section of the French AI Covers Twitter handle
