Claim: Viral video of Minority Leader assaulting a police officer is AI-generated
Source: Alexander Afenyo-Markin, Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu
Verdict: False
Researched by Samuel Nii Adjetey
On May 5, 2025, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) organised the “Save the Judiciary” protest in Accra following the suspension of the then Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, arguing that the action undermined the independence of the judiciary.
An incident widely reported from the protest was a report that Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who was one of the leaders of the protest, had punched a police officer (here, here, here) at a point during the march.
Responding to the incident on the Wednesday, November 12, 2025, edition of Dwaso Nsem on Accra-based Adom FM, Afenyo-Markin said:
“The viral video on social media portraying me punching a police officer, if you remember the video that came out in the afternoon, they (the CID) have a software that they put those AI-generated contents through.
“The Cybersecurity experts have a system that they use to check if it is true or not true. They put the video showing me punching a police officer through the system, and they concluded that it was fake; it was AI-generated,” he said.
Fig. 1- A quote card shared by Adom FM
This fact-check will verify whether the viral video was generated by AI.
Fact-check
GhanaFact found the viral video shared by multiple X accounts (here, here, here and here). The video shows a scuffle in which the Minority Leader is seen throwing his hand towards a police officer standing before him. GhanaFact identified that the viral video had the inscription JEFF OS and an editing software watermark – InShot.
Fig. 2- A screengrab of the viral video
To verify the claim that the viral video is AI-generated, GhanaFact conducted a Google search to trace the live coverage of the demonstration to analyse the scene of the altercation between the Minority Leader and the police.
GhanaFact found an extended coverage of the demonstration posted on YouTube by the Gossips24 Avenue channel. In the 22-minute and 42-second video, the Minority Leader is seen having a heated confrontation with a police officer at the entrance of Parliament House.
Afenyo and other protest leaders were at the Parliament to present a petition to the Speaker. He is captured, throwing his hand towards a police officer in the process. (Watch between 14 minutes and 14 minutes and 10seconds.)
Fig. 3- A screengrab of Afenyo Markin’s fist
Fig. 4- A screengrab of a scene of the incident showing the minority with the hand raised to hit the police officer
For further verification, GhanaFact used Google’s AI detection platform, Google SynthID, which indicated no AI manipulation or interference.
Fig.5-Screenshot of Google SynthID result.
From our analysis of the longer footage and the snippet that went viral on social media, the Minority Leader’s claim that the video showing him assaulting a police officer was manipulated or AI-generated is not true.
Timeline of actions and directives following the incident
May 5, 2025 – Media outlets, including Pulse Ghana and GhanaWeb, report the altercation between the Minority Leader and a police officer during the “Save the Judiciary” demonstration.
The Ghana Police Service issued a statement announcing the commencement of investigations and formally requested Parliament to release Afenyo-Markin to assist.
May 6, 2025 – The officer involved filed a complaint to the Tesano Police Station, while Afenyo-Markin also filed a counter-complaint the same day.
In his statement, Afenyo-Markin described the encounter as an unprovoked and “shameful attack” that occurred at the entrance of Parliament.
Giving an account of what happened at the scene on JoyNews on the same day of the incident, Director of Communications for NPP, Richard Ahiagba, confirmed that there was an altercation at the scene, adding that, if there was a video showing the Minority leader appearing to attack anyone, it was an act of self-defence. [watch from 27 minutes 10 seconds to 28 minutes 7 seconds]
“The situation was chaotic. It was a tense space, especially around the parliament area. I commend the police for their efforts, particularly the DCOP on duty, who did great work. However, things got intense when we tried to manage the crowd.
“I got caught up in it, trying to create space. The leader was hit badly on the chest and was almost taken out of the march. I had to take him to the washroom to calm down. If you saw footage of him appearing to attack anyone, it’s because he was trying to defend himself. He was hit by a police officer, and it was a reflex action”, he said.
Speaking at a media briefing on March 6, 2025, Director-General of the Criminal Investigative Department (CID), Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Lydia Yaako Donkor, said the Police have launched an investigation into the altercation that occurred during the demonstration.
“We’ve all seen the videos on social media about the altercation during the demonstration. We’ve also captured footage of the incident, and it’s now a matter of investigation. Whether it’s an assault, tussle, or confrontation, it needs to be investigated, so we’ve commenced an investigation.
“We’ve written to the Speaker of Parliament, as the individual involved is a sitting member of Parliament. We’ve identified the police officers on duty at the scene, taken statements, and will update you in due course”, she said.
November 7, 2025 – Via a Facebook post, Deputy Attorney-General Justice Srem-Sai confirmed the docket on the matter has been submitted and remains with the A-G awaiting a prosecutorial decision.
Meanwhile, Afenyo-Markin continued to insist he was not the aggressor, maintaining that he had been assaulted and reiterating his call for disciplinary action against the officer involved.
Verdict
The claim is rated false!
