The emergence and abuse of AI in social media conversations
The rise in the use of AI has transformed communication within the political space. The 2024 general elections marked a notable point where AI became a tool for strategic campaigning and targeted mis and disinformation.
In the lead-up to the elections, GhanaFact monitored growing instances of AI being used to develop political advertisement, to manipulate public opinion and to craft messages aimed at discrediting political opponents among other uses.
One popular instance was an AI-generated image showing the former Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, holding a pig’s head in one hand and wine in the other – an attempt to portray him in a manner inconsistent with his Islamic beliefs.
Such AI-generated content were circulated before and during the 2024 elections.
A dollar gift triggers AI-themed critique
On May 11, a video of Sammy Gyamfi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) handing a dollar gift to Patricia Oduro Koranteng, known as Nana Agradaa went viral. Hours later, the GoldBod CEO reacted to the ‘wave of criticism’ and offered an apology for what he described as ‘an unfortunate act of indiscretion.’
Amidst the controversy around the dollar gift, GhanaFact observed the use of synthetic content to drive political narratives around the episode. We observed especially the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create misleading content that predominantly targeted the GoldBod CEO.
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On May 13, 2025, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Gushegu Constituency, Alhassan Tampuli, posted an image of a United States dollar note altered to feature Sammy Gyamfi’s portrait in the centre.
The post was captioned “Samdollar!” implying an association between Sammy Gyamfi and the dollar. The post garnered over 1000 comments, 103 shares and 1.9k likes.
In another instance, an AI-generated video of Sammy Gyamfi and Agradaa in a car holding dollar notes was shared by a Facebook user with the caption: “A tale of a venerable philanthropist and a receiver.”
Another example was an AI-generated image of Sammy Gyamfi excitedly holding a large amount of dollar bills. The post titled: “Agradaa mpo nie, na Ghanaian Journalists…” made a number of allegations against Sammy Gyamfi including that he had “hired all the so-called Neutrals in Ghana; Journalists, Imani and Prof. Gyampo’s UTAG to attack the NPP government over Madam Cecilia Dapaah and her house help saga…” adding that the same person was today serving in a public office and was driving around sharing huge amounts of dollars.
Another AI-generated photo showing Sammy Gyamfi and the former Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Dapaah, was also circulated with a caption that was questioning the consistency of the NDC‘s stance on Mrs. Dapaah who was criticized after she allegedly lost over a million dollars in a domestic theft incident while serving as a minister.
“One NDC Executive said that while in opposition, Sammy Gyamfi always gifted him dollars. Someone who hasn’t worked before? Sammy Gyamfi also says Agradaa is poor and needy, so he gave her some dollars. Agradaa, poor and needy?”
The other video we came across was of Sammy Gyamfi dancing, with the caption “Alla!! Our venerable philanthropist $ammy.” It is instructive to note that the image from which Sammy Gyamfi starts dancing was taken years back.
AI, political communication and strategy formulation
In their 2023 study for the Archives of Business Research titled, ‘Strategic Communication and Artificial Intelligence: Reviewing Emerging Innovations and Future Directions,’ authors Osei-Mensah, B., Asiamah, E. O., & Sackey, R wrote about AI and political communication.
“AI in Ghana’s political communication landscape is a growing area of interest, with both potential benefits and risks. AI can be used for strategic communication, targeted messaging, and data analysis, but also for spreading misinformation and eroding trust,” they said.
Meanwhile, Ghana is through the Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations Ministry and other partners actively developing an AI strategy, focusing on ethical use, skills development, and addressing the digital divide.
Conclusions
These examples show how AI has become a convenient tool in the political space. Whether used for satire, propaganda, or outright disinformation, AI technologies are increasingly influencing public perception and political discourse, and in the case of the Sammy Gyamfi – Agradaa controversy, to mock a political opponent.
