Claim: A video shows Donald Trump seeking forgiveness from Allah following the devastating fires in Los Angeles.
Fact: The absence of credible news reports and an audio analysis of Trump’s alleged voice confirms that it is doctored.
A video (archive) shared on Facebook allegedly features the US President asking for Allah’s forgiveness after the wildfires in LA. The video carries English subtitles along with text in Urdu, which reads:
“الله اكبر
ٹرمپ نے کانفرنس میں کہا سپر پاور اللہ
بے شک 100 سپر پاور صرف اللہ پاک کی ذات ہے۔ اور یہ میسج پوری دنیا تک پہنچا چاہیے”
[Translation: Allah is great
Trump said in the conference that the superpower is Allah
Indeed, 100 superpowers are only the essence of Allah. And this message should reach the whole world]
In the audio, Trump’s supposed voice can be heard saying, “Allah is the greatest. Allah forgive us. Allah save America. We sincerely ask for forgiveness. Oh Allah, protect everyone. Death will come to everyone. Allah will forgive.”
Los Angeles fires
The wildfires in LA began on 7 January, causing widespread devastation, destroying thousands of homes and claiming at least 25 lives, according to the Associated Press. CNN reported that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection estimates more than 16,200 structures have been damaged or destroyed in the Palisades and Eaton fires.
On 22 January, evacuation orders and warnings were issued to over 31,000 people as two new wildfires ignited north of Los Angeles. The Hughes Fire began on Wednesday morning and spread over 10,000 acres. As of 23 January, the fire was 24% contained, according to Cal Fire, as reported by NBC News. By 30 January, Cal Fire reported that the fire was 100% contained.
Trump’s remarks about the fires
In his inauguration speech, Donald Trump criticised California’s handling of the Los Angeles wildfires. He blamed the state’s water management, suggesting that Governor Gavin Newsom prioritised an “essentially worthless fish called a smelt” over providing adequate water for firefighting.
Trump later signed an executive action titled “Putting People over Fish,” which aims to redirect California’s water resources. His remarks, part of his broader critique of California’s environmental policies, underscored political tensions regarding disaster management and resource allocation, the report added.
On 24 January, the US President visited California, where he was received by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, according to the BBC. Accompanied by the first lady, he toured the fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades neighbourhood before attending a roundtable discussion with local leaders.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check first searched for reports from credible news outlets on the matter but found none. The clip appeared dubious as the US President is visible in only one frame, and even then, his lip movements are not synchronised with the audio, when he supposedly says, “Allah is the greatest, Allah forgive us.”
In the remaining footage, only images of the fire are shown while Trump’s alleged voice can be faintly heard. The background noise is too loud to determine whether it is actually him speaking.
According to Shaur Azher, a sound engineer at Soch Videos, “The background music is overpowering the spoken dialogue. The dialogue-to-noise ratio is heavily skewed, making it difficult to isolate Trump’s alleged voice. Even after isolating the music, the hymn in the background remains dominant. However, Trump’s audio is clearly fake.”
We also analysed the video through Resemble Detect, a tool designed for real-time detection of deepfake audio across various media types. It rated the audio as “fake.”
This conclusion is supported by specific markers that distinguish synthetic voices from natural human speech. These include audio artifacts, such as subtle distortions or patterns not found in natural recordings, and unnatural speech patterns, where AI-generated voices display overly consistent pacing, pitch or tone, lacking the natural variability of human speech. Since Resemble Detect uses advanced tools to analyse the sound’s patterns and identify anything unusual, the analysis confirms that the audio is artificially made.
Virality
The video (archive) received 106,000 likes and 27,000 shares on Facebook.
It was shared here, here, and here on Instagram.
On TikTok, it was shared here (archive).
Conclusion: The audio in the video is fake and is not Trump’s actual voice. The absence of credible news reports on such a statement by the US President and an analysis of the video’s audio confirm that it is doctored.
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Background image in cover photo: Evan Vucci / Associated Press
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com