A Burkinabe teenager who used artificial intelligence to post fake news of a French coup on social media got more than he bargained for.
As well as millions of views and tens of thousands of “likes”, he also acquired a certain notoriety – and French President Emmanuel Macron, for one, was not amused.
And what he had planned as a moneymaking scheme netted him only €7 (US$8), he said. But he has no regrets.
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“Coup d’etat in France,” declared the video posted by the 17-year-old, showing what appeared to be journalists reporting on an ongoing takeover by an unidentified colonel.
In one shot, the Eiffel Tower and the blue lights from a police car flash in the background. “Demonstrators have gathered to support the colonel who seems to have taken power yesterday,” reporters say.
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It was all fake, of course: the product of his online training in the use of artificial intelligence.
