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Claim: A series of social media posts circulating on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and X claim that starting May 1, 2025, Ghana decided to stop trading gold with the USA, and as a result, the United States declared Ghana an unsafe country to visit.
Verdict: False! The claim that Ghana’s gold trade decision led to a US travel advisory is baseless. The advisory was issued before the policy took effect and cites security concerns unrelated to gold trade with the USA.
Full Text
A series of social media posts circulating in early May 2025 have claimed that Ghana’s decision to stop trading gold with the USA, effective May 1, 2025, prompted the USA to issue a travel advisory declaring Ghana an unsafe country for travel.
These posts, shared across platforms like X and Facebook, have gained significant attention. Below are the details of the posts and their engagement metrics:
- Al Varo X (@al_varo777) posted on X on May 2, 2025, at 11:31 AM: “So Ghana decided not to trade gold to the USA from May 1st, and all of a sudden, America says Ghana is not a safe country to travel. Interesting.” This post received 443 comments, 14K retweets (shares), 75K likes, and reached 1.4M views.
- Typical African (@Joe_Bassey) posted on X: “So Ghana decided not to trade gold to the USA from May 1st, and all of a sudden, America says trade gold is not a safe country to travel to.” This post garnered 49 comments, 1.5K retweets, 24K likes, and reached 604K views.
- Pan-Africanism posted on Facebook on May 7, 2025, at 1:40 PM: “So Ghana decided not to trade gold to the USA from May 1st, and suddenly, America says Ghana is not a safe country to travel. This has been their propaganda for years. Now we are tired of them. Let me tell you, Ghana is one of the safest countries in the world.” This post received 212 comments, 600 shares, 1.4K likes, and its reach is not publicly available but can be inferred to be significant given the engagement.
- Africa Archives (@AfricaArchives) posted on X: “Ghana decided not to trade gold to the USA from May 1st, and suddenly, America says Ghana is not a safe country to travel to. Your thoughts on this?” This post received 130 comments, 77 retweets, and reached 4.2K views, with likes not specified.
These posts, which can also be seen here, here, here, and here, collectively suggest a causal relationship, implying that the US travel advisory was a retaliatory response to Ghana’s gold trade policy.
The high engagement metrics indicate widespread interest and discussion, with Al Varo X’s post alone reaching 1.4M views and Typical African’s post achieving 604K views, reflecting the viral nature of the claim.
Some posts, such as the one from the Pan-Africanism page, go further, asserting that Ghana is “one of the safest countries in the world” and accusing the USA of using propaganda to discredit Ghana. The post adds a visual narrative of economic and diplomatic tension.
The significant engagement metrics show that it is a misinterpretation or fabrication, possibly intended to stir controversy. Hence, DUBAWA decided to investigate further for clarity.
Verification
DUBAWA’s investigation into this claim involved verifying two key components: Ghana’s gold trade policy and the US travel advisory for Ghana.
Below are the findings:
Ghana’s Gold Trade Policy
On April 14, 2025, the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) announced a new policy, effective May 1, 2025, prohibiting foreigners from participating in the local gold trading market.
Under this policy, all gold transactions, including buying, selling, assaying, and exporting, must be conducted through GoldBod.
As reported by credible sources, the policy aims to streamline gold purchases from small-scale miners, increase national revenue, and reduce smuggling.
This policy does not explicitly target the USA but applies to all foreign entities. Foreigners can still apply to purchase gold directly from GoldBod, indicating that trade with the USA is not entirely halted but is now regulated through a centralised authority.
US Travel Advisory
The US State Department’s travel advisory for Ghana has been at Level 2 status, advising travellers to “Exercise increased caution” before entering the West African country. The last recent precaution with no level status shift was in December 2024.
The advisory was last updated on April 8, 2025, before Ghana’s gold trade policy took effect on May 1, 2025. The document cites concerns such as violent crimes (e.g., carjacking, street mugging, assaults, and rape), underreporting of sexual assault, and regional instability near Ghana’s northern borders with Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire.
Meanwhile, it does not mention Ghana’s gold trade policy or any economic decisions as factors influencing the advisory.
Also, a comprehensive search for news articles, official statements, or reports linking the US travel advisory to Ghana’s gold trade policy yielded no results. This absence of evidence suggests the claim is not grounded in factual developments.
Nonetheless, the timing of the posts, shortly after the gold trade policy took effect, fuelled speculation. However, the lack of corroborating evidence indicates that the claim is speculative.
Conclusion
The claim that Ghana’s decision to stop trading gold with the USA from May 1, 2025, led to the USA declaring Ghana unsafe for travel is false. Ghana’s new gold trade policy, which restricts foreign participation and centralises transactions through GoldBod, is not mentioned in the US State Department’s travel advisory for Ghana.
