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Claim: A viral image on Facebook by Biggy Small claims to show the current state of Victoria Park in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Verdict: False. The image does not match the layout, appearance, or public records of Victoria Park. It is further AI-generated and does not resemble Victoria Park in any way.
Full Text
A viral image on Facebook claims to depict Freetown Amusement Park (Victoria Park), one of Freetown’s most prominent public landmarks. The photo shows a bushy and seemingly unmaintained area, sparking concern and criticism from some users regarding the facility’s state.
The image has no official source, yet it quickly spread across Facebook, prompting many Sierra Leoneans to question whether their iconic park now looks like the picture.
Given the park’s historic and national significance and Victoria Park’s cultural and historic relevance in Sierra Leone, misrepresenting its current condition could lead to public misinformation and unnecessary outrage. Fact-checking such claims helps preserve the integrity of public knowledge and prevents manipulation of civic opinion.
Verification
A TinEye Reverse Image Search and recognition was conducted using the viral photo. TinEye, which scanned over 76.1 billion images, returned zero matches, indicating that the image either had not been indexed or was not from any credible or publicly verifiable source.
A Google reverse image search also yielded a different result. All it could identify as verifiable on the uploaded image is the Nation’s flag and the green vegetation around it. It, however, does not show any identifiable link to Victoria Park. This image search result shows the image’s non-relationship to Victoria Park, making its attribution to the popular amusement park in Freetown a false one.
To assess the visual accuracy of the viral image, DUBAWA examined multiple verified images of Victoria Park and travel sources, including:
These sources display a maintained public space featuring playgrounds, shaded trees, clear paths, and community areas, none of which appear in the viral photo. These sources show the look of the Freetown Amusement Park, commonly called Victoria Park, a tourist attraction centre and a place for relaxation for kids and adults. All of their displays are utterly contrary to the viral image claiming to represent the Freetown Amusement Park’s original design or layout.
Victoria Park is a historic and well-documented recreational area in Freetown, known for its green lawns, picnic zones, amusement rides, and structured landscaping. It is a destination frequently photographed and reviewed by locals and international visitors. The viral photo shows no distinctive features that match the known environment of the park. A popular video on YouTube gives a detailed overview of the Freetown Amusement Park, telling you all you need to know about it. Nothing of the sort depicts any similarity to what is claimed in the viral photo.
The image above was taken in Victoria Park, which also features one of the tallest buildings in the country, the Sam Bangura Building. It is located just outside the park, and an aerial view of the building can be seen from inside the park.
The viral image was also assessed through Illuminarty to detect whether it was AI-generated content, and it proved to be so, with 74.8% AI-powered.
Further checks by DUBAWA show that the claimant is a religious publisher of fabricated AI-generated content that he passes off as places in Sierra Leone, as can be seen here, here, and here.
Conclusion
The viral image’s claim that it shows Victoria Park in Freetown is false. No visual, geographical, or verified source aligns the image with the actual features of Victoria Park. Reputable travel and local documentation continue to show Victoria Park as a maintained and structured public space, nothing like what the viral image claims.
