Misinformation and Disinformation in Ghana: When People Derive Pleasure from Falsehood on Social Media

A troubling trend has taken root in Ghana's digital space: the deliberate manufacturing of false stories, not merely to inform or persuade, but because deception itself has become a source of entertainment, engagement, and profit. Increasingly, content creators craft fake scenarios purely to attract attention, later dismissing the fallout as "pranks" once the falsehood has already spread.

Deception as Strategy, Not Accident
What distinguishes this newer wave of misinformation from older forms of rumor and gossip is its deliberateness. Some influencers stage fabricated scenes, manipulate news headlines, or strip videos of their original context specifically to ride trending waves and capture algorithmic reach. Platforms, in turn, reward this behavior with visibility and revenue, creating a perverse incentive structure: the more outrageous or emotionally charged the falsehood, the more it is pushed to wider audiences. Behind every like or share, ordinary Ghanaians unknowingly endorse falsehoods, normalizing a culture of dishonesty that increasingly spills beyond the digital space into workplaces, churches, and everyday social relationships.

A Legal Framework Left Behind
Ghana's existing laws, including the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843), were written for an earlier internet era, long before TikTok trends, algorithmic promotion, and deepfake technology reshaped how falsehood spreads. The National Media Commission oversees journalistic ethics for registered media houses but has limited authority over independent digital creators, while the National Communications Authority regulates telecom infrastructure rather than content. This leaves a significant gap in Ghana's institutional response to online deception.

Familiar False Narratives That Refuse to Die

Ghana's fact-checking organizations, including GhanaFact and Africa Check, have documented how certain false claims recirculate across the region for over a decade, often resurfacing in new forms every few years. A notorious example is the false 2011 claim that a bottled water brand had killed 180 people in Nigeria, which has resurfaced repeatedly in Ghana since. More recently, GhanaFact identified circulating claims in June 2025 that the Ghanaian government intended to introduce mandatory DNA testing from January 2026. Researchers note that such falsehoods tend to lack specific dates, making them feel perpetually relevant, and are often falsely attributed to authoritative figures to lend them credibility.

Academic research into Ghana's online ecosystem has similarly found that social media use in the country is frequently characterized by negative news, the spread of misinformation and disinformation, abusive language, fake prophecies, and unethical content produced purely to chase trends and monetization.

Toward a Digital Integrity Framework
Media stakeholders in Ghana, including the Media Foundation for West Africa and the National Peace Council, have called for a shift from reactive content moderation to prevention, including delayed posting for flagged content pending human review, graduated penalties for repeat offenders, and closer partnerships between platforms and local fact-checkers such as Dubawa, FactSpace West Africa, and Fact-Check Ghana. Proposals also include a Digital Media Integrity Bill that would define online misinformation clearly and prescribe penalties for deliberate falsehoods, alongside stronger digital literacy education to help young Ghanaians verify information before sharing it.

Mustapha Bature Sallama.
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal investigation and Intelligence Analysis.

International Conflict Management and Peace Building.USIP

[email protected]
+233-555-275-880
References
Ghana News Agency, "Social Media or Anti-Social Media? How Algorithms Reward Deception," October 21, 2025. https://gna.org.gh/2025/10/social-media-or-anti-social-media-how-algorithms-reward-deception/

GhanaFact, "When misinformation refuses to die: False narratives that have been re-circulated in Africa over years." https://ghanafact.com/when-misinformation-refuses-to-die-false-narratives-that-have-been-re-circulated-in-africa-over-years/

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, "Social Media Misuse in Ghana: Ethical Implications and Its Influence on National Values." https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/articles/social-media-misuse-in-ghana-ethical-implications-and-its-influence-on-national-values/

Centre for Democratic Development West Africa (CDD), "Ghana's Fake News Ecosystem: An Overview." https://www.cddwestafrica.org/reports/ghana-s-fake-news-ecosystem-an-overview/