Video of US duo’s 2011 performance was digitally altered with hoax Covid-19 prediction

More than seven million people have died from Covid-19 yet false information about the virus continues to circulate online. An Instagram post claims to show a video of American hip-hop artists Jay-Z and Kanye West performing a song in 2011 that contains lyrics predicting the pandemic. However, this is false: AFP Fact Check determined the audio from the original video had been altered with fabricated lyrics. The same clip was first debunked two years ago.

“OMG IS THIS TRUE OR AM I MISSING SOMETHING HEAR (sic),” reads the caption of an Instagram video published on September 28, 2024.

A text overlay on the footage says: “NO Way Kanye And Jayz Predicted c-vid19 In 2011 (sic).”

The short clip circulating in South Africa, where it has been liked hundreds of times, features Jay-Z purportedly rapping that “in 2020, there will be a little pandemic named Covid-19”.

West, known also as Ye, appears to continue with the verse: “Yeah, Covid-19, that’s what he said, so all y’all ni**as better wash your hands.”

<span>Screenshot of the Instagram post, taken on October 7, 2024</span>
Screenshot of the Instagram post, taken on October 7, 2024

Replies to the post were mixed; some seemed to believe it was true while others said the lyrics were incorrect.

Widely shared X posts also shared the video in the United States here and here.

The claim has resurfaced in various ways in recent years: a keyword search for “Jay-Z and Kanye West predict Covid-19” showed the video was debunked in 2022 and 2023 (archived here and here).

Analysis showed that audio had been manipulated to make it sound like the pair predicted the Covid-19 pandemic.

Clip from 2011 music awards

The American rappers collaborated on an album called “Watch the Throne” released in 2011 and one of their hits from this project was “Ni**as in Paris”, which is the beat heard in the altered clip (archived here).

However, none of the lyrics in this song predicts a pandemic or Covid-19 (archived here).

Various keyword searches about the pair’s appearances at the time helped to narrow down the video to an awards ceremony (archived here).

On August 28, 2011, the duo performed “Otis” at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles (archived here).

The altered clip features the footage of this performance but the audio has been changed – the fabricated lyrics have been added to the beat from “Nig**as in Paris” in place of the original “Otis” soundtrack.

AFP Fact Check matched West’s denim outfit and Jay-Z's white shirt and black New York cap in both versions of the video.

<span>Screenshot of the altered video (left) and the original VMA performance in 2011</span>
Screenshot of the altered video (left) and the original VMA performance in 2011

The lyrics for “Otis”, the song they did perform, also don’t refer to the Covid-19 pandemic (archived here).

AI-generated

An artificial intelligence (AI) program likely aided the altered audio.

Several free tools allow users to create audio using generative AI. A popular example is DJ David Guetta’s use of AI to add Eminem’s vocals to a live set in 2023 (archived here).

AFP Fact Check extracted the audio from the altered video and ran it through Loccus.ai — a detector that looks for specific forensic traces left by voice generators.

The result showed a 46-percent probability the audio was generated by an AI tool.

<span>Screenshot of the Loccus.ai detection results, taken on October 15, 2024</span>
Screenshot of the Loccus.ai detection results, taken on October 15, 2024

A second analysis using Resemble AI also identified the audio as fake (achieved here).

More than seven million Covid deaths have been reported to the WHO, but the true toll of the pandemic is thought to be much higher (archived here).

AFP Fact Check has verified numerous claims about the Covid-19 pandemic here.