Afeez Rabiu
CLAIM: A circulating audio clip purportedly features the voices of Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Aminu Tambuwal, and Okowa, plotting to manipulate the upcoming election.
FACT CHECK: FactcheckElection has reservations regarding the process of verification of the voice note as the tool used by other media to verify the audio file is meant for video file verification. There has been no audio verification tool to ascertain the authenticity of the voice note in particular.
We have reviewed the audio clip that has been circulating on social media and have analyzed it to determine its authenticity. However, we were unable to conclusively verify the authenticity of the audio clip.
Credible platforms like Cable NG, Centre for democracy and development (CDD) and more already refuted the claim citing deepware, an AI verification tool.
However, when we checked, we found something more interesting. We understand that a deepware verification tool can only verify videos and so to verify this audio voice note, they must have converted to video using another tool thereby affecting the original length of the audio.
Explainer: The deepware scanner tool which most media outlets based their verdict on the claim on was created by Zemana, develops deepfake detection technology designed to detect deepfake videos or, simply, any fake content in the areas of visual and audio communication. The cloud-based solution can scan a suspicious video to find out if it is synthetically manipulated.
The said claim was in audio format and must have been converted to video file before being uploaded for verification on the scanner therefore prompting the false results it generates as the audio file has been manipulated during conversion.
Also, the various verification results from other platforms show a shorter version of the audio, as the actual audio is 3 minutes long while other platforms have 2 minutes and 1 minutes as shown in their reports.
This shows that the deepware scanner as described by the creator is limited to video verification and also detects only synthetically manipulated content and not the actual voices behind the t is important to note that the audio clip has been reportedly verified by some conventional media organization and fact-checking body. The tool used by other media to verify the audio file is not appropriate for audio verification.
However, the alleged People involved in the audio clip, Atiku Abubakar, Aminu Tambuwal, and Okowa, have all denied any involvement in such a plot to manipulate the election. They have made several refutations on conventional media like Premium times and Vanguard newspaper to debunk the claim.
In conclusion, while the audio clip is circulating widely on social media, we cannot conclusively verify its authenticity due to the lack of appropriate audio verification tools. Therefore, we urge the public to be cautious in spreading unverified information and to rely on credible sources for news and information about the upcoming election.