Ghana TikToker jailed after sharing false news about the president
GHANA – A Ghanaian TikToker has been sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty to charges of offensive conduct and publication of false news over posts she had made about President John Mahama.
Last month and early this month, Camilla Alhassan shared a series of videos alleging, without providing evidence, that the president sacrificed 32 cows as part of a ritual to help him win the 2024 general election. The 43-year-old also alleged that a government initiative to distribute sanitary pads to recent flood victims was an attempt to conceal what she claimed he had done. The judge turned down an appeal for a lighter punishment, ruling that a custodial sentence would discourage similar conduct. Prosecutors had argued that Alhassan, who has more than 70,000 followers on TikTok, had made a series of false and defamatory allegations against the president. Her widely shared videos, which led to Alhassan’s arrest earlier this month, prompted renewed debate in Ghana about misinformation on social media and how to strike the balance between criminal sanctions and freedom of expression. The judge said that the sentence was necessary to curb the spread of falsehood, which is becoming prevalent on social media. This is not the first time an influencer has been jailed in Ghana. (BBC)
