Premium Times reports deepfake videos of Nigerian public figures ran for months as paid Facebook investment-scam ads; Meta removed them after the paper asked
Premium Times reported on 8 October 2026 that deepfake videos of Nigerian public figures were used in sponsored Facebook posts to promote fraudulent investment schemes. According to the report, a sponsored video on the page Nigeria Daily Report in mid-April 2026 showed a figure of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan telling viewers they could invest a one-off N430,000 to earn N14 million monthly; the senator did not make the video and had disclaimed any endorsement of investment platforms. In May 2026 a deepfake video of presidential candidate Peter Obi on the page Nigeria Daily Bulletin asked users to invest N350,000 to earn N4.5 million, linking to a website that cloned Channels Television. Another video cloned the voice of WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to promote a scheme, and she warned on X against videos using AI and deepfakes to impersonate her. The newspaper reports that Meta confirmed the ads and videos violated its policy, that the posts stayed on the platform for months, and that they were removed in July 2026, one of them in the first week of July, after the newspaper contacted Meta. No deceived investor is identified, the tool and the creators are not identified, and the deepfake descriptions are the newspaper's and the depicted people's.
- AI system
- Unidentified video tool
- Occurred
- Apr 2026
- Reported
- 8 October 2026
- Event location
- Nigeria
- What the AI did
- Depicted or impersonated the person
- Reported harm
- Reputational Harm
- Whose AI use
- Someone else’s AI use
- Setting
- Finance · Privacy · Everyday life
- Evidence
- AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source
- 6 claims: 6 reported. 4 open questions
- People reported harmed
- At least 3 people
AI system as recorded: Deepfake video generation, as described by Premium Times, used to create a speaking persona of a senator and videos of other public figures, in one case cloning the voice of the person depicted (tool not identified)
What Happened
The senator's video. Premium Times (reporter Qosim Suleiman, 8 October 2026, published under the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development's Tech Justice and Platform Accountability Project) reports that in mid-April 2026 a sponsored video appeared on the Facebook page Nigeria Daily Report showing a figure of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central, introducing viewers to a 'lucrative' investment scheme and telling them they could invest a one-off N430,000 to earn N14 million monthly. The newspaper says the senator did not make the video and had long disclaimed any endorsement of investment platforms; it quotes her statement about a similar video a month earlier that the video looked and sounded like her but was fabricated content created to scam the public. The newspaper states that the creators used deepfake technology to create a physical persona of the senator and paid to promote the video; it reports that the video had been seen and liked by over a thousand users and linked to a website whose registration details were hidden by a privacy service.
The presidential candidate's video. In May 2026, according to the report, a deepfake video on the Facebook page Nigeria Daily Bulletin showed Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress, asking users to invest N350,000 to earn N4.5 million. The link led to a website that cloned Channels Television's site and carried a fabricated interview attributing comments on an investment scheme to him, with a form collecting names, emails and phone numbers.
The voice-cloned video. The report describes another Facebook video in which the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, appeared to deliver a speech introducing a scheme paying N2,660,000 daily on an N380,000 investment; the newspaper says the video cloned her voice. She warned on X that anything carrying her image on Instagram, Facebook or WhatsApp was not from her, saying she did not want people to be duped.
Meta's response. Meta confirmed to the newspaper that the ads and deepfake videos violated its policy and said it removes ads that deceptively use public figures when it detects them, that it has systems to detect celebrity bait and that scammers constantly adapt. The newspaper reports that the posts nonetheless remained on the platform for months and were removed only in July 2026, one of them in the first week of July, after it contacted the company. A fact-checker quoted in the report says scammers hide such posts from a page's public profile while they run as sponsored ads to a targeted audience.
Wider pattern. The newspaper names other Nigerian business leaders and journalists who have featured in similar deepfake investment videos and quotes one business leader's statement that a video of him looked and sounded real but was completely fake.
What is not established. No investor who paid money after seeing these videos is identified, so no financial loss is recorded. The report does not identify the tool used, the creators or the people who paid for the ads. The deepfake description rests on the newspaper's own account and the depicted people's statements; no platform or forensic examination of the videos is described.
Reported harm
According to Premium Times, deepfake videos depicting a senator, a presidential candidate and the WTO Director-General endorsing fraudulent investment schemes ran as sponsored Facebook posts for months before Meta removed them; the senator and the Director-General publicly disclaimed the videos, and the senator described a similar video as fabricated content created to scam the public. No deceived investor is identified.
Outcome
OngoingPremium Times reports that Meta confirmed the ads and deepfake videos violated its policy and removed the posts in July 2026 (one in the first week of July) after the newspaper asked whether they violated its policies, months after they ran. The newspaper reports that new deepfake videos of other public figures continue to appear. No criminal charge, civil action or regulatory action is reported.
What remains unknown
- Whether anyone invested money after seeing these videos; no deceived person is identified and no loss is reported.
- Which tool generated the videos and who created them or paid for the ads; the linked websites' registrants were hidden by a privacy service.
- When the video of the WTO Director-General was posted and how long each video ran before removal.
- Whether any police report, platform referral or regulatory complaint followed; none is reported.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. Premium Times states that the creators of the senator's video used deepfake technology to create a physical persona of the senator and that the video of the WTO Director-General cloned her voice, and it describes the presidential candidate's video as a deepfake. The generated videos depicted the three public figures speaking words they did not say (depicted_or_impersonated) and were the means by which sponsored posts promoted fraudulent investment schemes to Facebook users for months. The descriptions are the newspaper's own and the depicted people's; the tool is not identified and no forensic examination is described.
6 claims: 6 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported In mid-April 2026 a sponsored video on the Facebook page Nigeria Daily Report showed a figure of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan telling viewers they could invest a one-off N430,000 to earn N14 million monthly; the senator did not make the video and had disclaimed endorsing investment platforms.
Causal attribution. Premium Times's account of the sponsored video and the senator's prior disclaimers; the senator's quoted statement about a similar video a month earlier is her own description.
- premiumtimesng.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'In mid-April, a sponsored video appeared on the Nigeria Daily Report Facebook page.'; 'Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s figure in the video told viewers they could invest a one-off N430,000 to earn N14 million monthly'; 'But the senator didn’t make the video, and she had long disclaimed any endorsement of investment platforms before this video surfaced.'
Reported Premium Times states that the creators used deepfake technology to create a physical persona of the senator and paid to promote the video to more Facebook users.
Causal attribution. The newspaper's own description of the video as a deepfake and a paid promotion; no forensic examination or platform finding on the method is cited.
- premiumtimesng.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'The creators used deepfake technology to create a physical persona of the senator, then uploaded it. The creators also promoted the video to reach more Facebook users.'
Reported In May 2026 a deepfake video on the Facebook page Nigeria Daily Bulletin showed presidential candidate Peter Obi asking users to invest N350,000 to earn N4.5 million, and its link led to a website cloning Channels Television.
Causal attribution. The newspaper's own description of the video and the linked website.
- premiumtimesng.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'In May, a deepfake video appeared on the Facebook page Nigeria Daily Bulletin, showing the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, asking social media users to invest N350,000 to earn N4.5 million.'; 'But the link in the video leads to a phoney website'
Reported A Facebook video cloned the voice of WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to promote a scheme paying N2,660,000 daily on an N380,000 investment; she warned on X against videos using AI and deepfakes to impersonate her.
Causal attribution. The newspaper's description of the video plus the depicted person's own warning; the date of this video is not stated.
- premiumtimesng.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'The video, which cloned her voice, introduced social media users to an investment scheme where users can invest N380,000 to earn N2,660,000 daily.'; 'But Mrs Okonjo-Iweala took to her X handle to warn Nigerians against the video and other investment platforms using AI and deepfakes to impersonate her.'
Reported Meta confirmed to Premium Times that the ads and deepfake videos violated its policy; the posts remained on the platform for months and were removed in July 2026, one of them in the first week of July, after the newspaper contacted Meta.
Causal attribution. Meta's emailed statement as relayed by the newspaper, and the newspaper's own observation of the posts' persistence and removal timing.
- premiumtimesng.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'Meta confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that the ads and deepfake videos violated its policy. But these posts remained on the platform for months. They were only removed in July after this newspaper contacted the social media company, asking if they violated its policies.'; 'The post was only taken down in the first week of July, after PREMIUM TIMES contacted Meta, asking if the post violated its policies.'
Reported Meta says it is against its policies to run ads that deceptively use public figures to scam people and that it removes such ads when it detects them.
Causal attribution. Meta's statement to the newspaper; retained as the company's position.
- premiumtimesng.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'“It’s against our policies to run ads that deceptively use public figures to try to scam people, and we remove these ads when we detect them.”'
Sources
1 source inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- Premium Times (Qosim Suleiman), 8 October 2026: Meta policies fail as scam ads, deepfakes impersonating Nigerian public figures litter Facebook(opens in new tab)
s1 · premiumtimesng.com · News report · English · Inspected · 8 October 2026 · Primary
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-09 on premiumtimesng.com (HTTP 200); no translation was involved and no human reviewer read the article. Feature by Qosim Suleiman dated 8 October 2026, published under the CJID Tech Justice and Platform Accountability Project. Applies to s1.
Event countries: Nigeria. Affected-person countries: Nigeria. Court countries: Unknown.
Event: the sponsored posts ran on Nigerian-named Facebook pages, quoted investment amounts in naira and, in the newspaper's words, specifically targeted Nigerians; the newspaper also reports that Nigerian fact-checkers reviewed the videos. Affected persons: the senator represents Kogi Central in Nigeria's National Assembly and the presidential candidate stood in Nigeria; the WTO Director-General's location is not stated, so NG rests on the first two. No court is involved.
Reviewed for publication 2026-10-09: Published as a core case on a single attributed newspaper investigation: Premium Times describes deepfake videos, one voice-cloned, depicting three named Nigerian public figures endorsing fraudulent investment schemes in sponsored Facebook posts, reports the depicted people's disclaimers and Meta's confirmation that the posts violated its policy and were removed months later after the newspaper's inquiry. Every claim is attributed to the newspaper, the depicted people or Meta; the tool, the creators and any deceived investor are recorded as unknown.
People described
Nigerian public figures depicted by deepfake videos endorsing fraudulent investment schemes in sponsored Facebook posts: a senator representing Kogi Central, a presidential candidate and the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (the report also names other business leaders and journalists depicted in similar videos); no deceived investor is identified
People reported harmed in this case
At least 3 people
0 AI participants · 3 other people harmed
Additional affected people are described without a reliable count.
Three people are counted: the senator, the presidential candidate and the WTO Director-General, each depicted in a described deepfake video promoting a fraudulent investment scheme. The report names five further business leaders and journalists who 'have all featured in deepfakes' or 'have also been victims of these deepfakes' without event details, and says 'many prominent Nigerians' have been depicted; they are the unquantified remainder. 'Over a thousand users' who saw or liked the senator's video are an audience, not harmed people, and no deceived investor is described. None of the counted people used the AI.
Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.
Tags
Cite this case
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). Premium Times reports deepfake videos of Nigerian public figures ran for months as paid Facebook investment-scam ads; Meta removed them after the paper asked. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-nigeria-deepfake-videos-of-public-figures-in-paid-facebook-investment-scam-ads-removed-after-newspaper-inquiry
BibTeX
@misc{2026_nigeria_deepfake_videos_of_public_figures_in_paid_facebook_investment_scam_ads_removed_after_newspaper_inquiry,
title = {Premium Times reports deepfake videos of Nigerian public figures ran for months as paid Facebook investment-scam ads; Meta removed them after the paper asked},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-nigeria-deepfake-videos-of-public-figures-in-paid-facebook-investment-scam-ads-removed-after-newspaper-inquiry}
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