{"id":1330,"date":"2026-09-30T17:26:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T17:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/?p=1330"},"modified":"2026-09-30T17:26:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T17:26:04","slug":"altered-video-falsely-claims-tplf-army-33-general-urged-tdf-members-to-surrender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/index.php\/2026\/09\/30\/altered-video-falsely-claims-tplf-army-33-general-urged-tdf-members-to-surrender\/","title":{"rendered":"Altered video falsely claims TPLF Army 33 general urged TDF members to surrender"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On September 26, 2026 a Facebook page with more than 440,000 followers shared a <a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/reel\/1406541507586926\">video<\/a> asserting that Commander of TPLF Army 33 General Woldegiorgis Teklay (Sherifo) is calling for the surrender of TDF members. Conversely, Hornfrequency used open-source techniques to check the veracity of the claim and proved that the video is AI-generated, and rendered it as <strong>false\/AI-generated<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"936\" height=\"522\" src=\"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1332\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7931565859979688;width:477px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-4.png 936w, https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-4-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-4-768x428.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 936px) 100vw, 936px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br><em>Screenshot\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/reel\/1406541507586926\"><em>shows<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0a deepfake video of General Woldegiorgis sharing a message of surrender<\/em><br><br>After the restart of the war in the northern part of Ethiopia a major offensive and defensive attack was seen by both the federal government and the armed forces allying against the federal government.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ethiopian government troops and allied forces report capturing a key town in the conflict torn northern Tigray region following days of multi-front clashes with rebel combatants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to posts on social media, the ENDF took control of woredas in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid03kdufmwjcSL96qc75jSe1UyveuwBEbGLWgxEknye8NKP8BroSgq15WTgitqHDZ8Sl&amp;id=100069349563879\">Alamata<\/a>&nbsp;alongside the Tigray Peace forces (TPF). Heavy fighting has escalated across northern Ethiopia over the past week as renewed clashes between the Federal government and the Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front (TPLF) and its allies unravel the fragile Pretoria peace accord signed in November 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The earlier stage of the war, spanning 2020 to 2022, left hundreds of thousands dead and forced millions from their homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">General Woldegiorgis Teklay, widely recognized by his name &#8220;Sherifo,&#8221; is a prominent senior military commander within the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) and the central military command structure of the Tigray People&#8217;s Liberation Front (TPLF). Renowned for his operational leadership on the ground, he serves as the Commander of Army 33 and has been&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.umdmedia.com\/article\/fear-internal-mistrust-and-a-quiet-reshaping-of-tigrays-military-command\">positioned<\/a>&nbsp;as a deputy front commander during&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/ethionewsnetwork\/photos\/according-to-sources-on-the-ground-armed-and-masked-militants-have-been-infiltra\/1320416122773824\/?_rdc=1&amp;_rdr\">recent<\/a>&nbsp;strategic reorganizations of the region&#8217;s armed forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recently, General Weldegiorgis Teklay (Sherifo), commander of the TPLF\u2019s Army 33, provided&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/tigrinya\/articles\/c60m373r7zz8o\">clarification<\/a>&nbsp;to BBC Tigrinya regarding the fighting that broke out on the Afar front. In his statement, he denied attacking the Afar region, stating, &#8220;We attacked the Hara Meret militants, not the Afar region.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"936\" height=\"556\" src=\"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-5.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1333\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.6834906125669944;width:532px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-5.png 936w, https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-5-300x178.png 300w, https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-5-768x456.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 936px) 100vw, 936px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br><em>Screenshot\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/tigrinya\/articles\/c60m373r7zz8o\"><em>shows<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0an interview of General woldegiorgis Teklay with BBC Tigrigna\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hornfrequency conducted a further investigation on the video using AI-detection tools and gets a result of 99.9% AI-generated video and 98.6% of AI-generated speech.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"936\" height=\"506\" src=\"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1334\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.8498446419538983;width:501px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6.png 936w, https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6-300x162.png 300w, https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-6-768x415.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 936px) 100vw, 936px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We also found the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/godobona\/posts\/pfbid036M8JEcAr3KurTGcaRp8GRCSYCzE6ng2dQr1v1BtQbPgaM3WbTcwxJ9oZJEdTvNBVl\">original image<\/a>&nbsp;that was used to generate the AI-video previously shared on June 26, 2024.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"668\" height=\"924\" src=\"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-7.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1335\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.7229559482539951;width:291px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-7.png 668w, https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-7-217x300.png 217w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 668px) 100vw, 668px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In spite of the current war happening against the federal government, hornfrequency assessed the video and labeled it as\u00a0<strong>false\/AI-generated<\/strong>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On September 26, 2026 a Facebook page with more than 440,000 followers shared a video asserting that Commander of TPLF Army 33 General Woldegiorgis Teklay (Sherifo) is calling for the surrender of TDF members. Conversely, Hornfrequency used open-source techniques to check the veracity of the claim and proved that the video is AI-generated, and rendered it as false\/AI-generated.&nbsp; Screenshot\u00a0shows\u00a0a deepfake video of General Woldegiorgis sharing a message of surrender After the restart of the war in the northern part of Ethiopia a major offensive and defensive attack was seen by both the federal government and the armed forces allying against the federal government.\u00a0 Ethiopian government troops and allied forces report capturing a key town in the conflict torn northern Tigray region following days of multi-front clashes with rebel combatants. According to posts on social media, the ENDF took control of woredas in&nbsp;Alamata&nbsp;alongside the Tigray Peace forces (TPF). Heavy fighting has escalated across northern Ethiopia over the past week as renewed clashes between the Federal government and the Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front (TPLF) and its allies unravel the fragile Pretoria peace accord signed in November 2022. The earlier stage of the war, spanning 2020 to 2022, left hundreds of thousands dead and forced millions from their homes. General Woldegiorgis Teklay, widely recognized by his name &#8220;Sherifo,&#8221; is a prominent senior military commander within the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) and the central military command structure of the Tigray People&#8217;s Liberation Front (TPLF). Renowned for his operational leadership on the ground, he serves as the Commander of Army 33 and has been&nbsp;positioned&nbsp;as a deputy front commander during&nbsp;recent&nbsp;strategic reorganizations of the region&#8217;s armed forces. Recently, General Weldegiorgis Teklay (Sherifo), commander of the TPLF\u2019s Army 33, provided&nbsp;clarification&nbsp;to BBC Tigrinya regarding the fighting that broke out on the Afar front. In his statement, he denied attacking the Afar region, stating, &#8220;We attacked the Hara Meret militants, not the Afar region.&#8221;&nbsp; Screenshot\u00a0shows\u00a0an interview of General woldegiorgis Teklay with BBC Tigrigna\u00a0 Hornfrequency conducted a further investigation on the video using AI-detection tools and gets a result of 99.9% AI-generated video and 98.6% of AI-generated speech.&nbsp; We also found the&nbsp;original image&nbsp;that was used to generate the AI-video previously shared on June 26, 2024.&nbsp; In spite of the current war happening against the federal government, hornfrequency assessed the video and labeled it as\u00a0false\/AI-generated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1332,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,8],"tags":[132,130,131],"class_list":["post-1330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","category-technology","tag-disinformation","tag-factchecking","tag-misinformation"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1330"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1336,"href":"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1330\/revisions\/1336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hornfrequency.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}