A recent TikTok post has been found to be false, claiming to show Bassolma Bazié, a former Burkinabé union leader, criticizing a donation made by the country's Prime Minister. The post, which was published on September 4, 2026, features a video from a 2019 television program called "Surface de vérité". In the video, Bazié is seen criticizing a donation made by the President of the National Assembly, not the Prime Minister.
The video in question was originally broadcast on January 28, 2019, and features Bazié discussing the President of the National Assembly's donation. A reverse image search on Yandex revealed that the video was previously published online. Bazié, who was the former Secretary-General of the Burkinabé General Confederation of Labor (CGT-B), criticized the donation, stating that it was at odds with the government's claims of lacking funds to meet the demands of the syndical movement.
Further investigation revealed that Bazié republished the video on May 12, 2020. A Google search using keywords related to Bazié criticizing the Prime Minister's actions did not yield any results supporting the claim. The Prime Minister, Rimtalba Jean-Emmanuel Ouédraogo, recently made a donation of a motorcycle to a young student in need.
The false claim comes at a time when Ouédraogo's government is actively engaging in social welfare initiatives. PesaCheck, a fact-checking organization, examined the TikTok post and found it to be false. The organization is part of a larger effort to combat misinformation on social media platforms, partnering with Facebook and other platforms to verify suspicious content.
PesaCheck's investigation into the video revealed that it was manipulated to make it seem like Bazié was criticizing the Prime Minister's donation. The organization has been working to verify the accuracy of reports and statements on public finances in Africa. Bazié has since taken on a new role as President of the National Commission of the Confederation of Sahel States (CN-CES) since January 2025.
The fact-checking organization, PesaCheck, was founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein and is incubated by Code for Africa. PesaCheck aims to help the public distinguish between fact and fiction in public statements about finances that shape the delivery of public services related to sustainable development goals.
PesaCheck's editor-in-chief, Doreen Wainainah, approved the fact-checking report for publication. The report was written by fact-checker Françoise Dembélé and edited by Josaphat Finogbé.
Key points
- The TikTok video was found to be false and manipulated to mislead the public.
- Bassolma Bazié criticized a donation made by the President of the National Assembly, not the Prime Minister.
- PesaCheck continues to work to verify the accuracy of reports and statements on public finances in Africa.
