Description: Ghanaian media reported that an alleged online scam used AI-generated deepfake videos to impersonate President John Dramani Mahama and solicit money and personal information from members of the public. Police said the operation was linked to suspects in Ghana's Volta Region and involved fake social media accounts and digitally manipulated presidential imagery.
Editor Notes: Timeline notes: The incident ID date is 05/01/2026, based on the earliest dated Ghana Police cyber operation reported in connection with the alleged AI-generated deepfake scam impersonating President John Dramani Mahama. Police reportedly made arrests during operations from 05/01/2026 to 05/04/2026. The incident ID was created on 07/09/2026.
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The OECD AI Incidents and Hazards Monitor (AIM) automatically collects and classifies AI-related incidents and hazards in real time from reputable news sources worldwide.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Synthetic video generation technology developers , Synthetic media generation technology developers , Synthetic audio generation technology developers , Deepfake technology developers and Image generation technology developers developed an AI system deployed by Wisdom James , Thomas Ayoyo , Scammers in West Africa , Scammers in Ghana , Scammers impersonating John Mahama , Scammers , Raphael Ablordeppey , Louis Segbawu , John Kofi Darlington , Edwin Edos , Dzamesi Bright Kofi , Danu Peter , Bishop Esiri , Anipah Jonathan and Ali Lucky, which harmed Targets of scammers in Ghana , Social media users , public figures , Privacy , People targeted by financial scams , John Mahama , General public of Ghana , General public and Epistemic integrity.
Alleged implicated AI systems: Synthetic video generation technology , Synthetic media generation technology , Synthetic audio generation technology , Social media platforms , Deepfake technology and Image generation technology
Incident Stats
Incident ID
1579
Report Count
1
Incident Date
2026-05-01
Editors
Daniel Atherton
Incident Reports
Reports Timeline
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The Inspector-General of Police's Cyber Vetting and Enforcement Team (CVET) of the Ghana Police Service has arrested 11 individuals, including Nigerian nationals, over allegations of using AI-generated deepfake videos to impersonate John Dr…
Variants
A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
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