The year 2025 was a defining year at GhanaFact as we worked extensively on rolling out an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) platform to combat offline misinformation and drive media literacy efforts.-
We also launched our radio programme / podcast, The FactSpace, which had 13 episodes running on Radio Universe 105.7FM on Thursdays at 4:30 pm. We rounded off the year with four special episodes of the radio programme, to take stock of 2025 in terms of the work produced especially from the newsroom – Fact-checks, fact-sheets, analysis pieces, explainers and long-form reports – disinformation lab and OSINT pieces.
In this piece, we look back at our 10 most read articles for 2025.
‘Other checks’ category dominates
In the year under review, we observed that the majority of our most read articles were in the “Other checks” and “AI & deepfakes” categories of the website. 70% of our 10 most read stories were from two categories.
A 2025 Ghana Immigration Service recruitment scam story we produced got us the most page views, followed by our analysis piece on a manipulated viral photo alleged to be of Burkina Faso leader Ibrahim Traore’s family.
Two other scam related articles completed the top 4 most read articles. A HOAX wrapped in a viral telegram message alleging that people’s photos have been uploaded on a particular website and another HOAX on WhatsApp about Donald Trump’s US$350 grants to Africans and Europeans.
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Our fifth most read article came in the aftermath of the August 6 helicopter crash. We analysed a viral tribute song supposedly composed by American musician Selena Gomes and found that it was AI-generated.
The sixth to 10th most read articles were as follows:
False claim that US immigration after Africans
In the wake of announced deportations by the Donald Trump administration in January, we found FALSE claims circulating across social media, that undocumented immigrants including Africans were being hunted down by US law enforcement agents.
Dollar never hit 17 cedis under NPP
In May, we revisited the never-dying claim that the US dollar had hit 17 cedis at a point during the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo presidency (2017 – 2024). We found that the highest official rate of the Ghana cedi to US dollar was 16.4 Ghana cedis to a dollar in November 2024. Therefore, Awal Mohammed’s claim that the dollar never hit GH¢17 under the NPP government was TRUE.
Mahama’s 1500 cedis development grant cash hoax
In July, we busted a HOAX that was circulating on WhatsApp about an alleged GH¢1,500 ‘development cash grant’ by President Mahama’s government. Our analysis of the attached link showed that it was malicious and phishing. There was also no evidence of the said grant on the website or social media handles of the presidency or ministry cited.
US set to cut all ties with Africa
In May, amid the Trump administration reorganization of the State Department and decision to close some embassies across the world, we investigated viral reports that the US was set to cut all ties with Africa, we investigated the claim and found that it was FALSE.
Promise meter – Fact-checking the NDC’s 120-day social contract
120 days after taking office on January 7, 2025 (in May 2025), Ghana Fact’s Promise Meter tool was set in motion to investigate 25 promises the John Dramani Mahama administration published in their 120-day social contract prior to the 2024 general election.
We found that while some promises had been fully delivered, others were partially kept, others in the works but two others failed. Read details in our FULL REPORT.
Other widely read stories
Our final story of the year gained significant traction. It highlighted the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in romance scams as contained in the US indictment against Abu Trica, who was arrested in Ghana and is set to be extradited to face charges in the US.
Our story of a FALSE claim that Ningo Prampram lawmaker, Sam George, was watching porn in Parliament during proceedings also got some traction as did our fact-check on a FALSE claim contained in a viral video that a 12-year-old bride of a 70-year-old Pakistani husband had given birth.
The issue of whether or not cement prices dropped due to improving economic metrics was also well read as well as our debunk of viral social media claims that President Mahama had closed all US military bases in Ghana.
