'I'm sorry,' Foreign Affairs PS Singo'ei says over deep fake video

Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei has apologised for sharing an AI-generated video about Kenya’s role in Sudan’s peace efforts.

Sing’oei faced widespread backlash yesterday after posting the deepfake video on his official X account, which falsely portrayed Kenya’s involvement in Sudan peace diplomacy.

By Friday morning, the post had been deleted, with Singo’ei issuing a statement expressing regret for the confusion caused.

He also promised to undergo AI training to prevent future missteps.

 “I regret any confusion this may have caused and thank everyone who flagged the video as a deepfake. Our Ministry has been working with partners and tech companies to explore the potential of watermarking AI-generated content to ensure that such material does not pose as human-generated material. Additionally, we are designing—with the collaboration of partners and big-tech companies—the School on AI Diplomacy (SAID) at the Foreign Services Academy—a program I will attend—to equip policymakers better to navigate these emerging challenges,” he wrote.

“My apologies once again, and I sincerely appreciate everyone’s vigilance, correction, and candor,” he added.

The video, designed to resemble a CNN broadcast, falsely featured journalist Fareed Zakaria discussing Kenya’s role in Sudan’s peace efforts.

In his original post, Sing’oei captioned the video: "For the fake analysts who doubt the good faith of Kenya’s peace diplomacy, here is a cogent assessment by CNN’s Foreign Policy expert, Fareed Zakaria."

His post added to a series of diplomatic blunders by the Kenyan government in recent days, amid public uproar.