Very Dark Man AI media incident — May 2026

An activist in Nigeria known as Very Dark Man (VDM) became the target of criticism after an AI-generated audio clip featuring President Tinubu's voice was added to one of his videos. The manipulated video prompted calls for the activist's prosecution.

What happened

An X user posted a video of VDM to which an AI-generated voice note mimicking President Tinubu was added. In the original video, VDM played a clip of President Tinubu promising to improve Nigeria's electricity. The altered video made it appear as though VDM was promoting the AI-generated audio. The AI-generated audio made claims about the president's political position and other sensitive topics. Following the spread of the manipulated video, a special advisor to President Tinubu quoted the X post and stated that VDM should face legal consequences for sharing the fake audio.