“Please Tell Me This Is AI”: Helen Zille Appears in AI Video Surrounded by Gusheshe's, SA Reacts

• An AI-generated video featuring Helen Zille posing with classic BMW E30 Gusheshe cars went viral on Instagram
• The clip was posted by creator uhu.lumeni with the caption 'POV: Me After Purchasing A GUSHESHE'
• South Africans flooded the comments with laughter and scepticism about the political undertones of the video

A playful AI-generated video featuring Helen Zille has South Africa talking. The clip, posted by Instagram creator @uhu.lumeni on 29 October 2026, places the DA politician inside a parking garage lined wall to wall with iconic BMW E30 models, affectionately known as the Gusheshe.

The video carries the on-screen caption "POV: Me After Purchasing A GUSHESHE" and is presented in a lighthearted, humour-first style that immediately caught people's attention.

Gusheshe meets politics

The Gusheshe holds a special place in South African township culture, long celebrated in kwaito music, street racing scenes and everyday pride. Placing Zille in that setting was the joke itself, and Mzansi got it immediately.

Read also

South African creator’s Halloween spoof gets Mzansi laughing with local references

While many viewers laughed along, others were not entirely sure what to make of it. Some were genuinely unsure whether the footage was real, while others read a political message into the whole thing.

View the Instagram video below:

South Africans did not hold back in the comments on the page:

@amandasibiya said:

"Guys please tell me this is AI 😩😩😭😭😂😂"

@kuhlejames_ wrote:

"Haaaaaaayibooo 😩😭😭yeeeey!!!! I hope this is AI"

@webster9f8 asked:

"Guys is this AI? 🤣🤣"

@obamontle commented:

"Oh the pretence to be loving our culture 😮"

Whether viewed as satire or social commentary, the video landed exactly where its creator likely intended, squarely in the middle of South Africa's favourite pastime: laughing at politics.

More Briefly News stories on AI

• Just Eat’s AI tool turned menu names into bizarre food images, from jacket potatoes in coats to prawns with tiger cubs. Just Eat apologised; trial suspended.
• Alpha School’s AI-driven Chicago campus teaches K-8 core subjects in two hours daily, but experts question its experimental model and no validated results.
• Grade 9 pupil Brandon Mashandudze has been named an American Lung Cancer Scholar for research exploring how AI may improve early lung cancer screening methods.

Source: Briefly News