Claim: Multiple reports alleged that the image of a truck that reportedly damaged a newly built train on a test drive in Ghana was a random online photo.
Verdict: False! DUBAWA’s investigation findings revealed that the image of the truck that reportedly caused the train wreck in the West African country was not a random online photo. A dash-cam video captured by the train and released by Ghana’s Ministry of Railways showed that the truck in the image circulating online was the vehicle that caused the accident.
Full Text
Multiple reports have cast doubt on the image of a truck that reportedly damaged a newly built Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU). Ghana’s Railway Ministry said the train built in Poland was on a test drive on the Tema-Mpakadan railway line when it rammed into the truck.
A private legal practitioner, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, alleged the image was a random online picture selected to deceive Ghanaians.
“The fact that the Minister for Railways will download a random picture of the internet and offer it as proof of a truck on the railway just tells you everything about this Gov’t and the 4th Republic. Misinformation to cover incompetence,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Apr. 19, 2024.
The leader of the Ghanaian pro-democracy group #Fixthecountry shared a similar image of the truck that reportedly destroyed the train posted on the website skyscrapercity.com.
Another X user, Nii, was emphatic that the picture was stolen from another website. He wrote, “They stole the photo from this page [self] haha.” He also accompanied his post with the image of the truck posted on skyscrapercity.com.
DUBAWA decided to investigate the claim because of the interest in train accidents in West African countries.
Verification
DUBAWA visited skyscrapercity.com, the website alleged to be the source of the image of the truck that purportedly caused the accident. Data available on the website showed the picture was posted there a few minutes after the train wreck was reported in Ghana.
Data on skyscrapercity.com has revealed that a user, Mpaw82, who joined the website in 2009, posted the picture. However, no data supports the claim that the picture posted on skyscrapercity.com predates the train accident that occurred in the West African country.
Also, an examination of the dash-cam video captured by the train and released by Ghana’s Ministry of Railways showed the truck in the image circulating online was the vehicle that caused the accident. Watch the video here from 0:10 to 0:27 on X (formerly Twitter).
DUBAWA later conducted a thorough analysis using an advanced digital verification tool, InVid, to determine whether the video captured by the train’s dash cam had been manipulated. The findings revealed that the video shared by Ghana’s Railway Ministry had been edited and rearranged.
A careful analysis of the video showed it jumped from minutes 12:09:23 to 12:10:41, eventually leading to the crash. However, there is no evidence to suggest that the image of the truck was superimposed in the video. This conclusion is drawn despite the claim by Ghana’s minister of Railways, John Peter Amewu, that the image of the truck has been photoshopped.
“I haven’t seen the picture myself, so I have to get to my Facebook. I think someone manages Facebook but the picture I saw on social media was a photoshop of a vehicle they have put across the line and that is not even the point. That is not the kilometre [where the accident happened],” he confirmed to Accra-based Joy FM.
Similarly, the owner of the truck behind the train wreck, Mawuli Tsekpor, has not denied the image of the vehicle circulating online. He disclosed to Accra-based GHOne TV that the driver, Abel Dzidotor, abandoned the vehicle on the rail track after it broke down.
“I was at the Block Factory when the driver told me he was using the Underbridge to offload some blocks, but the truck broke down on the track when he was returning. He later went for tools to have the problem fixed, and upon his return, he saw the truck completely destroyed by the train,” he said.
The driver who abandoned the truck on the rail track leading to the accident pleaded guilty to three out of four counts under the Road Traffic Act, 2004 (Act 683) as amended at a district court in the Asuogyaman district. He has been handed a six-month jail term for the accident caused, Accra-based Joy FM has reported.
Meanwhile, one of the people who claimed the image of the truck purportedly behind the train accident was a random online photo has deleted his post. Checks by DUBAWA on X showed the post has been deleted.
DUBAWA contacted Pesa, the Polish company that manufactured the diesel train, to confirm whether the video purportedly captured by the train was genuine. However, as of Apr. 22, 2024, the company has yet to respond to the inquiry.
Conclusion
DUBAWA checks have confirmed that the claim that the image of the truck that reportedly caused the train wreck in Ghana is a random online photo is false.
