Claim: A viral image circulating online recently shows a city purported to be the newly developed city of Saniquellie, Nimba County.
Verdict: False! Findings reveal that the image is AI-generated.
Full Text
Over the years, Ganta, which is the commercial capital of Nimba, has experienced rapid development and practically stolen the beauty of Saniquellie. When Nimba County Superintendent Kou Gono took office in 2024, she began a journey to develop Saniquellie, the main capital of Nimba County. Sup. Gono’s Administration started planting flowers along the streets of Saniquellie and executed projects to uplift the face of the city.
However, recently, photos started circulating online claiming to be the developed city of Saniquellie. Audiences rained praise on Sup. Gono for a job well done in redesigning the capital and giving it a polished look. The image was reposted here, here, and here.
The post gained traction with several reposts, with many of the viewers commending the Nimba Superintendent for rebranding the city. At the same time, other people argued that the image was AI-generated.
The mixed reactions led DUBAWA to verify.
Verification
In verifying this claim, the researcher used an AI detection tool to assess the image’s AI probability. The AI detector ZeroGPT revealed that the image is 95% AI-generated, portraying that it is not a real image.
Screenshot below
To further authenticate the veracity of the claim, DUBAWA reached out to a journalist, Willette Wonyenneh, who resides in Saniquellie to establish the originality of the photo. Willette told DUBAWA that the image looks too polished to be Saniquellie. She, however, admitted that the city currently holds a view similar to that portrayed in the photo circulating online.
DUBAWA also found a current video from Saniquellie (3-minute-clip) posted on the Voices from Nimba TV which shows a similar view of the street of Saniquellie.
Even though there have been some improvements on Saniquellie streets, the image circulating online is AI-generated.
Conclusion
Based on our findings, there have been major improvements on the streets of Saniquellie, but the circulating image is AI-generated.