|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Claim: A viral video, originating from the channel African Profiles on YouTube, claims Cameroonian President Paul Biya, who has ruled for over 40 years, has been overthrown in a military coup.
Verdict: False! The viral video claiming Paul Biya was overthrown in a military coup on June 9, 2025, is an AI-generated fabrication unsupported by credible media, CRTV, or local accounts.
Full Text
A YouTube channel, African Profiles, based in the US with 36,400 subscribers and over 3.4 million views since its creation on December 20, 2022, posted a video claiming that Cameroon’s President Paul Biya was toppled in a coup on June 9, 2025.
The video, which has garnered over 530,000 views, (currently removed on June 9 around 11:40 pm GMT for violating YouTube’s policy but archived here), has been widely shared across social media platforms, including Facebook pages like Africa Diaspora, Elijah G Woods, and Eduardotv, where it received 900 likes, 258 shares, and 217 comments.
Another Facebook page, Dabreezy Comedy, with 777,000 followers, shared the video, amassing 5,800 likes, 1,900 shares, and 787 comments. The video can also be found here, here, and here.
The video’s presenter narrated:
“At 5:43 a.m., just before sunrise, a trembling voice broke through Cameroon’s national broadcaster, CRTV. No anthem played, no ceremony unfolded—just a tight-faced military spokesperson reading from a single sheet of paper: ‘The President of the Republic, Paul Biya, is no longer in command. The armed forces have taken control in the name of national survival. Cameroonian sovereignty begins now.’ For a moment, Cameroon froze.
“As the sun rose over Yaoundé, the nation awoke to a new reality. Paul Biya, the man who had ruled for over 40 years, outlasting coups, outmanoeuvring rivals, and governing from foreign hospitals, was gone. Whispers spread: Is it real? Is Biya dead? Who’s in charge? By 7:00 a.m., armoured vehicles surrounded the Etoudi Presidential Palace. Black SUVs swarmed the Ministry of Defence, airport traffic halted, and key generals vanished from sight. Yet, the streets filled not with fear but with tears, laughter, and trembling hope.”
A follow-up video from the same channel, captioned “NEW CAMEROON LEADER HELD HOSTAGE — Biya’s Soldiers STRIKE BACK After Coup!” claimed that the new leader was taken hostage by Biya loyalists, garnering 150,000 views.
Comments made under the post on YouTube before the popular streaming platform deleted it.
With a massive tendency to misinform the public, DUBAWA had to investigate further.
Verification
DUBAWA’s investigation reveals that the viral YouTube video claiming a coup against Cameroonian President Paul Biya is a fabricated narrative with no basis in credible reporting.
This false claim is an AI-generated fabrication, likely created using tools like VEO 3 or Invideo AI, which produce realistic videos with synthetic voices and visuals. Several pieces of evidence debunk the claim:
- No CRTV Coverage: The video claims the coup was announced on Cameroon’s national broadcaster, CRTV. However, a review of CRTV’s official YouTube channel, website, and social media accounts (X and Facebook) as of June 10, 2025, shows no reports of a coup or Biya’s removal. Such a significant event would be prominently featured on CRTV’s platforms.
- No Credible Media Reports: A coup of this magnitude would dominate international and local news outlets, such as the BBC, CNN, Reuters, Al Jazeera, and Cameroon-based sources like The Cameroon Tribune or The Post. A June 10, 2025, search across these outlets and Twitter found no mention of a coup in Cameroon or Biya’s ousting.
- Pattern of Misinformation: African Profiles has a history of posting unverified, sensational claims.
Two weeks prior, it published a video titled, “TRAORÉ SHOT by His Most Loyal Bodyguard But He SURVIVED the Attack!” about Burkina Faso’s leader, Ibrahim Traoré, which any credible outlet did not report.
Another video claimed, “Togo ERUPTS: People Give Faure Gnassingbé 72 HOURS to Step Down — Uprising Begins!”—also false. These patterns suggest the channel uses AI-generated content for engagement farming, likely to boost views or monetisation.
- Local Debunking: Cameroonians on social media, particularly on Facebook, have rejected the claim. Comments include:
- Chantal Mata: “What is this? My country in this AI news? This is not Cameroon.”
- Sönè Mwãnä Wå Ngûvù: “I’m in Cameroon, and no one is reporting a coup. Who is making this up?”
- David Ikome: “Please verify news before posting. Fake news harms your platform’s credibility.”
- Jehoshaphat Ogu: “I’m in Douala, Cameroon, and nothing is happening here. Stop spreading lies.”
- Presenter Anonymity: Unlike credible news broadcasts, the video’s presenter does not introduce themselves or provide a byline, a common trait of AI-generated content designed to avoid accountability. None of the 31 videos on African Profiles include presenter identification, further suggesting AI manipulation.
- Technical Indicators: The video’s polished narration, seamless visuals, and dramatic background noise are consistent with AI-generated content from tools like VEO 3, which can mimic realistic broadcasts. Subtle inconsistencies, such as unnatural voice cadence and overly cinematic descriptions, support this conclusion. Such a broadcast should feature scenes from different parts of the country, rather than relying on a single avenue to corroborate such claims without any video evidence or an interview linking to the story.
Conclusion
The claim that President Paul Biya was overthrown in a coup on June 9, 2025, is false. The viral video from African Profiles is likely an AI-generated fabrication, as it lacks support from credible media, CRTV, or local accounts in Cameroon. The channel’s history of posting similar unverified stories, combined with the absence of presenter identification, points to engagement farming.
