Central African Republic’s Meme Coin Launch Raises Deepfake and Fraud Concerns

The Central African Republic’s President, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, announced the launch of an official meme coin, CAR, on February 10.

However, AI deepfake detection tools and irregularities in domain registration have raised concerns about the meme coin’s authenticity.

President Faustin-Archange Touadéra Announces CAR Launch

The launch of the CAR meme coin was announced through the president’s official X (formerly Twitter) account.

“Today, we are launching $CAR – an experiment designed to show how something as simple as a meme can unite people, support national development, and put the Central African Republic on the world stage in a unique way,” the post read.

Following the announcement, the president released a video reiterating his pro-crypto stance. In the video, he highlighted the historic decision in 2022 to become the second country in the world to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender.

The president emphasized the country’s belief in blockchain technology and its potential for fostering community-driven initiatives.

Nevertheless, two out of four Deepware AI models identified the video as potentially fake. The Seferbekov model detected an 82% likelihood of deepfake manipulation, and the Ensemble model marked it as 60% suspicious.

Yet, two other models, including Avatrify and Deepware’s own checker, did not flag the video as a deepfake. This conflicting analysis has sparked debate within the community. While some question the video’s credibility, others remain convinced of its legitimacy.

Is the CAR Meme Coin Legitimate?

Adding to the concerns, Yokai Ryujin, founder of UnrevealedXYZ, highlighted discrepancies in the CAR meme coin’s domain registration. Ryujin pointed out that the car.meme domain was registered on Namecheap only three days before the project was officially announced.

“does not look like what president or a country would do…” Ryujin claimed.

Shortly after, Namecheap removed the website, labeling it an “abusive service.” 

In addition, X suspended the meme coin’s official account, which was supposed to provide project updates. President Touadéra addressed the suspension.

“We are working with @X  to get  @CARMeme_News  back as soon as possible,” he wrote.

Based on the official contact address shared by President Touadéra, CAR launched on the Solana (SOL)–based Pump.fun platform at 10:25 PM UTC. Its market cap surged to $527 million within hours, reflecting strong initial demand.

However, multiple tokens with the same name launched around the same time, causing confusion.

X user LINKKZYY claimed that someone had launched an identical token two days earlier, using the same branding and funding route, and with only a two-minute difference in launch time.

The user alleged that the project rugged the first token on Raydium before releasing an identical version.

“This is literally the first memecoin ever genuinely rugged by a country if you think about it; anyway,” the post stated.

That’s not all. Another X user, Bio7ss, also warned about the meme coin’s distribution.

“Be careful with $CAR – Central African Republic Meme They control 80% of total supply! If it were a regular coin it would be a major red flag. Insiders are already making millions dumping on you. Also the Trump Coin Team controlled 80% and we know how it ended,” the user explained.

The news comes as US President Donald Trump introduced the Official Trump (TRUMP) meme coin ahead of his inauguration. However, questions remain about its ownership. 

Reports suggest that two entities connected to the Trump Organization hold 80% of the total supply. Additionally, after the initial hype, the meme coin has struggled to maintain momentum, shedding most of its early gains.