Fact check: Fake videos cloud Kenya protest coverage – DW – 07/02/2025

DW

3 days ago

Viral videos and images from Kenya's 2025 protests are misleading—DW Fact Check finds old and AI-generated content.
On 25 June 2025, several cities in Kenya, including Nairobi, were the scene of protests marking the first anniversary of the 25 June 2024 demonstrations against the finance bill. The 2024 protests saw citizens take to the streets and storm Parliament. These demonstrations were violently suppressed, resulting in multiple deaths.
A year later, rallies organized in memory of the victims were once again met with force. Many images and videos circulated online, purporting to show the brutality. However, as is often the case during breaking news events, not all of the content was authentic. Old footage resurfaced on social media and was shared with misleading claims. DW Fact check looked at the most viral ones.
Claim: A 17-second video published on TikTok, with over 500,000 views, allegedly shows footage from the 25 June 2025 protests in Nairobi, Kenya. The caption reads: "Gen Z live demonstration in Nairobi CBD Maandamano live in Nairobi CBD 25 June Occupy StateHouse Kenya Protests."
DW Fact check: False
The video does not depict the June 2025 protests in Nairobi. A reverse image search reveals that both clips originate from earlier events.
The first segment was shared online in YouTube on 17 September 2018, labelled "Addis Ababa at the moment." It shows a protest in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, triggered by ethnic violence that had recently resulted in the deaths of 23 people.
We could geolocate the video snippet: The building visible in the footage is located on Churchill Avenue in the Addis Ababa.
This same video had already circulated in June 2024, falsely claiming to show protests in Kenya against the finance bill.
The second segment, starting at 00:09, does show a gathering in central Nairobi. It was posted on the social media on 25 June 2024, during the protests against the finance bill.
An analysis of visible landmarks, confirmed via Google Street View, places the scene at the intersection of Koinange Street and Kenyatta Avenue.
But it is not the only older image shared out of context.
Claim: An image of a police officer kicking a man lying on the ground is shared on X, claiming to show a scene from the June 2025 protests in Kenya. The post reads:
"These inhumane treatments will not be sufficient to silence or deter a determined African, who has nothing left to lose. #RutoMustGo."
DW Fact check: False
This photo does not depict police violence during the June 2025 protests. A reverse image search confirms it is an older photograph.
The image was taken on 16 May 2016 in Nairobi by photojournalist Ben Curtis. On that day, police cracked down on a demonstration by the opposition and civil society groups calling for the dissolution of the electoral commission.
But as with all breaking news situations, even during and after the protests in Nairobi, Kenya, we have seen AI-generated content being shared as if it is real and depicting the aftermath of the protests.
Claim: A 10-second video of a person waving the Kenyan flag is circulating on TikTok, with over 477,000 views. The caption reads: "For Kenya, we are more than ready to die! Viva Genz."
DW Fact check: Fake
This video shown is not real. A reverse image search shows that the still image used in the video is from a real photo taken by Simon Maina for AFP during the 25 June 2025 protests in Nairobi. However, the video itself was AI-generated.
A watermark in the corner, "Kling AI 1.6," indicates the use of an AI tool to create synthetic content. At the 4-second mark, the arms holding the flag change color from black to white, a common glitch in AI-generated visuals. Additionally, a red plaque with strange writing appears in the video, which does not exist in the original photograph.