Model and actress Savannah Adwoa Mensah experienced a profound breach of digital safety when she stumbled upon a strikingly realistic image of herself on Facebook. The image, purportedly endorsing an obscure herbal skincare brand with the dubious claim of “100% Natural Glow Guaranteed,” was not a throwback memory or mis-tagged photo, but a fabricated digital likeness manipulated for commercial purposes without her consent.
The alarming realization prompted Mensah to report the page to Meta and issue a public warning: “If you see an ad of me promoting this product, it’s not me. It’s an AI-generated image used without my consent.” Her experience is emblematic of a growing crisis affecting Ghanaian public figures, whose images are increasingly exploited by faceless entities for questionable marketing tactics.
Another notable victim is Maame Esi Nyamekye Thompson, a senior journalist with Joy News, whose likeness was used to promote a fraudulent diabetes treatment. The advertisement incorrectly claimed, “Try an innovative product that changes the concept of diabetes treatment. Doctors are amazed at its effectiveness, and patients are thrilled with the results.” Thompson publicly refuted the claim, stating, “This is still ongoing. I never did this advert lol.”
The emergence of cloned voices, fake videos, and synthetic identities poses a wider threat, undermining public trust and professional integrity. For journalists, activists, and celebrities, the ramifications can be especially severe. The situation intensified in September 2024 when Bernard Avle, a prominent broadcaster from Accra-based Citi FM, fell victim to a voice-cloning scam. Criminals replicated his distinctive voice to promote a fraudulent product, raising alarms about the potential for AI tools to influence political discourse or facilitate financial fraud, particularly ahead of elections.
In November 2023, South African broadcasters Bongiwe Zwane and Francis Herd were digitally impersonated in hyper-realistic AI-generated videos endorsing false investment schemes. These videos garnered millions of views before social media platforms intervened, with one version on Facebook accumulating 113,000 views alone and another on YouTube reaching 134,000 views.
A report by TransUnion Africa and digital verification firm Smile ID revealed that deepfake-related fraud in Africa surged sevenfold in late 2024. The report emphasized that “deepfake, synthetic identities and AI-enhanced scams are no longer fringe threats — they’re real, fast-moving risks reshaping how trust is built and broken in the digital economy.”
Ghana’s legal framework does provide mechanisms to combat these violations, though the terrain remains largely untested. Technology lawyer Desmond Isreal explained that victims of deepfakes have multiple avenues for redress. “If someone’s image or voice or even likeness is used in a deepfake without their consent, there is a violation in terms of personal data,” he stated, referencing the Data Protection Act. He also pointed out that constitutional protections exist, noting, “If you use somebody’s likeness without their permission, they could also have some cause of action in terms of the general breach of their privacy.”
Despite these legal avenues, enforcement remains sluggish, forensic tools are scarce, and challenges in securing digital evidence persist. Ghana’s courts have yet to fully confront the implications of synthetic media cases, according to Isreal.
Media literacy advocate Stephen Tindi cautioned that the problem extends beyond the readiness of the courts. “We do not know the extent to which they are common. The technologies have become widely available. So they are more common than we know,” he remarked, emphasizing the urgent need for awareness in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
As Isreal succinctly put it, “Synthetic impersonation is not emerging. It is here.” He warned that without decisive action to strengthen legal and technological frameworks, digital forgeries will continue to proliferate, targeting anyone with a recognizable face, voice, or online presence. Tindi echoed this sentiment, urging vigilance: “You’ll have to really open your eyes when you’re out there because you can easily encounter them.”
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