Dark
Light

Malaria Must Die campaign uses video AI to make David Beckham speak nine languages

by
April 9, 2019

David Beckham’s latest video, this time for the Malaria Must Die campaign, sees him showing off his linguist skills – thanks to deepfake AI technology.

‘Malaria Must Die, So Millions Can Live’, created by R/GA London, shows Beckham sitting at a table and telling viewers: “Malaria isn’t just any disease. It’s the deadliest disease that’s ever been.”

The minute-long video, where the former footballer speaks a total of nine different languages, is part of a campaign that encourages people to speak up and use their voice to help put an end to the deadly disease. 

Throughout the video, Beckham seamlessly transitions between Spanish to Arabic, French to Hindi, Mandarin and English, whilst reeling off statistics about how dangerous Malaria is. 

Intending to be the first ever voice petition, the video invites viewers to go to malariamustdie.com and say ‘Malaria Must Die’, adding their voices to the campaign. 

In a behind-the-scenes video, Beckham added: “It’s great to be involved in something where the tech side of our lives and our world get involved, to be one voice of many different people.”

Beckham worked closely with Dr Elvis Eze, who can be heard speaking Yoruba in the video. He said: “Dr Elvis Eze, who was with us on set, has suffered with malaria many times and, as a doctor, he has seen how dangerous this disease can be.

“For me, it was so important to learn how he is using his experiences to raise awareness of malaria with young people in the UK and abroad.

“It’s unacceptable that malaria still kills a child every two minutes so please add your voice to the petition.”

Beckham is a founding member of Malaria No More’s UK leadership council.