Is this Quote by Ibrahim Traore Genuine?

   By Elijah Koome

In an X post published on July 23, 2026, a user known as Boston Tea, who according to their bio is a self-described “analyst of criminal statistics and social indicators,” claimed that Captain Ibrahim Traore, the current leader of Burkina Faso, said that black people do not even understand how a phone or the internet works. This alleged claim is meant to support the idea that black people are inherently inferior to white people and that they are not capable of producing advanced technology. The account that posted this claim, which seems to be based in Poland and tweets mostly in the Polish language, pushes racist, anti-black, and anti-immigration content. It has 80k followers. At the time of review, the post had attracted at least 1 million views and 4.9k reposts, indicating significant reach. 

Background

Captain Ibrahim Traore came to power on September 30, 2022, when he ousted his former commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Henri Damiba, who had, in turn, overthrown Roch Marc Kabore, the president who was elected in 2015. According to a report by Deutsche Welle, Traore justified taking over the government based on the rising terrorist threat in Burkina Faso. His stated goal was to crush the threat of terrorism and help the country transition back to democratic elections. However, this promise was not fulfilled, and Traore has been in power ever since. Some of his key actions include severing ties with France, getting closer to Russia, withdrawing from ECOWAS, and, together with Mali and Niger, forming a new bloc called the Alliance of the Sahel States. 

Verification

The video clip attached to the post bears the watermark “@dobsky33,” indicating that it was originally shared by X user David Dobsky. A detailed search of similar videos using X and web browsers revealed that this clip was excerpted from a much longer speech (1 hour 21 minutes) that Traore gave on July 16, 2026, while speaking in Burkina Faso’s Yaadga region. The whole speech was posted on the Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina (RTB) YouTube channel. This is  Burkina Faso’s official national broadcasting service.

An examination of the English-dubbed version of the speech shows that the quote circulated by Boston Tea is stripped of context. Beginning around 1:00:00, Traore talks about the natural resources that Africa is blessed with, including oil. He then rhetorically asks, “What are we black people doing with all that?” He then answers his own question by outlining the lack of industrial capacity in Africa to turn raw materials like iron and oil into finished products. He asks whether this is normal and whether black people are cursed or not. Immediately after this, at around 1:00:49, he says, “If we aren’t cursed, then we should be able to do it.” He adds, “we are going to do it. We must be in a position to do it, to produce.” This clearly shows he doesn’t believe black people are incapable or inferior in this regard. 

Around 1:01:00, he recounts an anecdote he was telling someone about how when one wakes up and starts asking questions, they will realize the towel, the toothbrush, and other things they are using are imported. He gives several examples, including motorcycles. He says, “It is good to fight imperialism, but it is also good to tell ourselves the truth and wake up.” This particular phrase is omitted in the quote that Boston Tea cited. Traore says that the white man came and invented the telephone and the internet, and we as Africans take it and use it to insult each other, and we are happy even though “we created nothing.” At around 1:03:36, he says we Africans have brains like everyone else and should use them to produce things. Traore continues his speech, using similar rhetorical devices, to emphasise why Africans need to innovate and produce more. He concludes his speech with remarks about education, which he says needs to be more practical rather than devoted to writing long papers. He adds that those who are open-minded will appreciate his message, while those who are close-minded will insult and hate him for what he has said during his speech. 

Verdict

While the quote cited by X user Boston Tea contains some words said by Traore, it also contains strategic omissions and is decontextualized to support racist claims; thus, it is MISLEADING.