Claim: Political Journalist Abraham Godsent Wheon posted on Facebook an image portraying Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai in a wheelchair, alleging he was abandoned by his officials at the Istanbul airport. The post is archived here.
Verdict: False! DUBAWA verified the image and can confirm that it is AI-generated.
Full Text
The Executive Mansion released a statement on July 5, 2026, about the departure of President Boakai to Istanbul, Republic of Turkey, for an official working visit. According to the statement, the President was expected to hold a series of engagements to strengthen bilateral relationships and promote investment opportunities.
However, political journalist Abraham Wheon took to Facebook on July 9, claiming to have received a picture of President Boakais seated in a wheelchair in Istanbul airport in a condescending manner.
The claimant said, “We don catch ‘Cocaine Papa’ JNB sitting alone in a wheelchair at Istanbul Airport while passengers and airport staff went about their normal business. From what we saw, he appeared to have arrived like an ordinary passenger. There was no visible official reception or fanfare.”
Screenshot of the comments.
The claim generated 846 reactions, 531 comments, and 122 shares. Many viewers in the comment section argued over the image’s authenticity, with some calling it AI-generated and others believing the claim to be true. The mixed reactions led DUBAWA to conduct a verification.
Verification
To verify this claim, the researcher used an advanced AI detector to determine whether the image was generated by Artificial Intelligence or was real. The photo verified using Zerogpt.com revealed that the image is 71% fake. Indicating the possibility of being generated by AI.
Screenshot of the result.
Furthermore, Presidential Press Secretary Kula Fofana told DUBAWA the information isn’t true. She confirmed the researcher’s verification that the image is AI-generated.
Screenshot of the press secretary’s comment.
Conclusion
Based on our findings, the image is AI-generated. Therefore, the claim is false.