NDC

Claim: New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Mahamudu Bawumia is giving out an instant cash prize from his campaign fund. (Source: Social Media, WhatsApp)

Verdict: Hoax

Verification

An initial attempt to access the link provided in the message triggered malware advice, indicating that the

site is malicious and that access to it could be risky.

When the Coalition ran a check on the website URL through the website credibility tool Virus Total, 10 security vendors had flagged the URL as phishing, malware and malicious.

Claim: A flyer on social media claiming  that the dollar equivalent of the National Service Scheme (NSS) allowance of ₵559 in 2016 and ₵715 in 2024 were $143.33 and $42.29, respectively.

Verdict: False

Verification

The Cedi traded at ₵4.275 to the dollar as of December 31, 2016, when the NSS monthly allowance was ₵559. Therefore, the dollar equivalent of ₵559 was $130.760 after dividing the monthly NSS allowance by ₵4.275, not $143.33. Also, the NSS allowance as of December 5, 2024, is ₵715 after it increased in July 2023. The Bank of Ghana’s exchange rate as of December 5, 2024, is $1 to  ₵14.9125. With the dollar trading at ₵14.9125, the dollar equivalent of ₵715 is $47.9463, not $42.29 as claimed.

Claim: An X user, @edemgilbert, has shared an audio in which he accuses John Mahama, the 2024 NDC flagbearer, of plotting with Electoral Commission officials to rig the election in the Ashanti region. (Source: Dr. Gilbert Edem (X.com/) (archived)

Verdict: False

Verification

There is no evidence that the voices in the audio are those of John Mahama and an Electoral Commission official in the Ashanti Region. A content analysis conducted on the audio revealed some discrepancies. In the audio, the alleged EC official was asked if he was the “Leading Returning Officer,” he responded that he was the group leader. The Electoral Commission’s organisational structure does not have a role called Leading Returning Officer. Regulation 2 of the Public Elections Regulation, 2020 (C.I. 127) provides that the Commission shall appoint Returning Officers in the various constituencies for Parliamentary elections. Also, in the audio, the alleged EC officer was asked if he had initiated the plan, and he responded “We are done with nine, and we are left with seven.” However, the Ashanti Region has 48 constituencies, not 16. Therefore, the region has 48 Returning officers. There is no evidence to support the allegations. 

Claim: A social media user, @marcusadampah, shared a video showing men in two Metro Mass buses he alleged are “macho men” the NPP brought in from Burkina Faso. (Source: X (Formerly Twitter) @marcusadampah   (archived))

Verdict: Misleading 

Verification

Our checks at the Metro Mass Transit Company showed that the two buses moved from Accra to Sefwi Asawinso in the Western North Region, not from Burkina Faso, as alleged. Reacting to the claim, the Police say their preliminary investigation revealed the men were recruited from different parts of Accra to “provide security at polling stations within some constituencies” in the region.  The Member of Parliament from Joaboso, Mintah Akandoh, who spoke to the Coalition, repeated the claim that the men were from Burkina Faso but did not give any further evidence of how he came by that information. 

Claim: An X user, @marcusadampah, alleges that the  New Patriotic Party ( NPP) has been caught with ballot papers and voter’s register as part of a plot to rig the December 7, 2024, election.

Verdict: False

Explanation

There is no evidence that the booklets in the vehicle seen in the video are ballot papers. However, an analysis of the footage showed printed copies of the voters’ register in the vehicle. Conventionally, the EC always makes the register available to the parties ahead of elections. The narration accompanying the footage mentioned “voter’s register” and not ballot papers. Also, no credible media outlet has reported the alleged claim. The precedent in Ghana is that Electoral officials, political party representatives, and police officers are responsible for transporting ballot papers to the various polling centers.

Claim: Multiple social media users shared a video with captions claiming the NDC Flagbearer John Mahama during a rally in Daboase said the next NDC government will sell the country.

Verdict: Misleading 

Explanation

The Ghana Fact-checking coalition found a longer version of the video in which the NDC candidate, John Mahama, misspoke when he stated that the next NDC government would sell the country but corrected his speech and said; “If the NPP is voted back into power, they will sell Ghana,” after Armah Kofi Boah him approached over the slip.

Claim: An X user, @Mayor38593709, shared a flyer in which John Mahama, the 2024 NDC flagbearer, reportedly said he “may not sign” the anti-LGBTQ+ bill into law if elected.

Verdict: False

Explanation

The 2024 NDC flagbearer, John Mahama, did not make the alleged comment in his interview with the BBC. Ghana’s Parliament passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values on February 29, 2024; however, President Nana Akufo-Addo has declined assent to it, citing pending court action. Mr Mahama explained that LGBTQ+ practices are against Ghana’s “religious faith, Muslim and Christian.” He explained that the President must review the bill, indicate “what he finds wrong” with it, and send it to Parliament or the Council of State for advice. Asked if he would ever sign an anti-LGBTQ+ bill, Mr Mahama said, “It depends on what is in [it].” He never said anywhere in the interview that he “may not sign” the pending LGBTQ+ bill. Also, the media outlet whose logo is featured on the flyer has denied creating it. 

Claim: Viral audio alleged John Mahama advocates lying to electorates to get their vote ahead of the election

Verdict: False

EXPLANATION

Researchers under the Ghana Fact-checking Coalition listened to the audio content and made a manual comparison with other interviews with John Mahama, and they found some voice discrepancies. AI audio detection tools like Deepware and Hiya Deepfake voice detectors were also used. These tools rated the viral audio as 62% inauthentic and flagged it as suspicious while the other interviews were rated as 99% and 77% authentic.

Claim: A flier shared by an X user, @edemgilbert, reports John Mahama, the NDC 2024 flagbearer, as saying he could win the December 7 election without votes from the Greater Accra and the Volta regions.

Verdict: False

EXPLANATION

There is no evidence from any credible news platform that John Mahama made the alleged comment. A content analysis conducted on a video showed that Mr Mahama did not mention the Volta and Greater Accra regions in his final campaign rally in the Ashanti region. In the video, Mr Mahama expressed shock at the large crowd he pulled in his opponent’s stronghold.

With just three days to Ghana’s presidential and parliamentary elections, the Ghana Fact-Checking Coalition has launched a campaign to promote accurate information before, during, and after the December 7 polls.

Led by three International Fact-Checking Network signatories—Dubawa, Ghana Facts, and Fact-Check Ghana—alongside media and civic partners, the coalition will provide fact-checked reports and analyses of potentially false or misleading claims shared by political actors and their allies.

From 4–11 December, the coalition aims to empower citizens with verified information to counter disinformation. This report highlights claims fact-checked on day one.

Claim 1 : An X user, @OfficialBigkay, claims an NDC supporter had cut off the thumb of an NPP member in Bolgatanga.

Verdict: Misleading

Verification

Our findings reveal that a man’s thumb was cut off following an altercation with another person. However, the incident had nothing to do with the two leading political parties, NDC and NPP. Checks by the Ghana Fact-Checking Coalition indicate the incident occurred in Prestea in the Prestea-Huni Valley District of the Western region, not in Bolgatanga

Claim 2: Multiple sources say the 2024 NDC flagbearer, John Mahama, won the Special voting exercise conducted on December 2, 2024. 

Verdict: False

Explanation

The ballots cast during the Special Voting exercise have yet to be counted. The Electoral Commission has explained that the Special Voting ballots will be counted at the various Constituency Collation Centres after the polls close on December 7, 2024. Also, Regulation 23 of the Public Elections Regulations, 2020 (C.I. 127) provides that after the Special Voting exercise, the returning officer shall “ensure that the ballot boxes are kept in safe custody after the poll has closed.” 

Claim 3: A viral TikTok audio allegedly features Mahamudu Bawumia, NPP presidential candidate, calling Ghanaians weak-minded and promising to deceive them into winning the upcoming election.

Verdict: False.

Explanation

The Ghana Fact-checking Coalition compared the viral TikTok audio to five of Mr Bawumia’s past YouTube speeches and it revealed significant discrepancies. The audio features unnatural pitch variations and a polished accent that diverges from his typical speaking style, suggesting manipulation. The Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector tool also rated the audio as 80 per cent likely to be a deepfake. Experts from the Ghana Fact-checking Coalition concluded that the audio likely stems from voice-cloning technology, such as Resemble AI, which can generate synthetic speech from text scripts.