A viral TikTok video claims that Burkina Faso’s military leader, Ibrahim Traoré, has declared the country a tax-free nation, attracting interest from figures like Elon Musk and prompting threats of sanctions from Western nations.
The claim originated from a TikTok video posted by user @panafrican069. The 3-minute, 17-second video features a scripted newscast-style voiceover layered over unrelated background footage. It alleges that:
Part of the audio transcribed reads:
...Burkina Faso has just made history, president Ibrahim Traoré has declared Burkina Faso a tax free. All taxes on salaries, on businesses, and foreign investments have also been lifted turning the country into Africa’s first tax free nation in his powerful statement. Traore declared for too long my people have struggled under heavy taxes and this has drained Africa’s wealth, from Today, Burkina Faso would be the land of financial freedom no more taxes, only prosperity…
The video has gained traction, with over 150,000 likes, 12,200 comments, and 14,400 reposts.
READ: Video does not show crude oil discovered in Burkina Faso
CLAIM
Video shows that Burkina Faso military leader Traoré has scrapped all taxes on salaries, businesses, and foreign investments.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub shows that the claim is FALSE!
AI-generated & manipulated content
Firstly, parts of the video appears to be AI-generated. The voiceover and visuals do not match, and the format closely resembles other AI-generated misinformation videos previously debunked by The FactCheckHub.
A close observation of the video reveals visual inconsistencies such as unnatural lip movements, staccato head movements of the newscaster and his speech, audio that is out of sync with the visuals, strongly indicate that the video was created using artificial intelligence
Misleading footage
Secondly, a key clip in the video shows the military leader Traoré speaking at an event. A reverse image search using Google Lens traced the footage to a news report by Africa24TV. The original video is from Traoré’s speech at the 2024 Academic Excellence Day held on August 23, 2024 not an announcement of a tax-free policy. However, this clip was used to falsely claim that the military leader had announced a tax-free regime in the West African nation
No official evidence
Thirdly, neither Burkina Faso’s government nor any credible local or international media outlet has reported the introduction of a tax-free regime. Such a major policy shift would be widely covered.
Passing of finance act
Furthermore, on the contrary to the tax free claim, in December 2024, Burkina Faso’s transitional parliament passed the 2025 Finance Act, which introduced new tax reforms. Among them is a provision requiring individuals and businesses on e-commerce platforms to begin paying taxes from January 2025 evidence of the government broadening, not eliminating, its tax base.
THE VERDICT
FALSE: The claim that the milliatry leader Ibrahim Traoré has declared Burkina Faso a tax-free nation is not true. Parts of the video is AI-generated and misleading. Official records and media reports show no such policy exists.
Seasoned fact-checker and researcher Fatimah Quadri has written numerous fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy pieces for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org.
