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.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Deepfake technology developers , Synthetic media generation technology developers , Synthetic video generation technology developers and Synthetic audio generation technology developers developed an AI system deployed by Scammers , Scammers in Ghana , Scammers in West Africa , Scammers impersonating John Mahama , Bishop Esiri , Wisdom James , Ali Lucky , Edwin Edos , John Kofi Darlington , Danu Peter , Raphael Ablordeppey , Anipah Jonathan , Dzamesi Bright Kofi , Thomas Ayoyo and Louis Segbawu, which harmed Targets of scammers in Ghana , John Mahama , Epistemic integrity , General public , General public of Ghana , Social media users , public figures , People targeted by financial scams and Privacy.
Alleged implicated AI systems: Deepfake technology , Synthetic media generation technology , Synthetic video generation technology , Synthetic audio generation technology and Social media platforms
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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