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Claims: An online blog posted a photo saying it is “a picture of President Boakai’s heart surgery.”
Verdict: False. The picture is a digitally altered 2022 image of a Nigerian man who is ill.
Full Text
On Monday, October 20, 2025, an online blog named Yekeh Kolubah posted a photo, claiming it featured President Joseph Boakai.
The picture shows a pale man in a health facility, with a plaster on his chest.
The blog’s Facebook post said that the image is “a picture of President Boakai’s heart surgery.”
The photo sparked speculation among commenters, with some saying it’s fake, but the blog insisted it’s real.
The post attracted 415 reactions, 133 comments, and 36 shares as of October 22, 2025.
DUBAWA verified the picture’s authenticity due to the controversy it has generated.
Verification
DUBAWA ran the picture on Google Images, a search engine that finds images on the web.
The engine found what looked like the original picture Yekeh Kolubah posted, but with the face slightly altered to resemble the Liberian President, Boakai.
The picture also came with a different narrative.
The image dates back to 2022 and shows multiple news media publications stating that it features a Nigerian man who was ill and needed help.
“30-year-old needs N17m for urgent kidney transplant,” the story said, as can be seen here, here, and here.
Screenshot of Ude’s picture
From the findings above, it is clear that Ude’s face was removed and the face of President Boakai was attached to his body, to display the Liberian leader as ill.
A few hours after the post, President Joseph Boakai is captured at an official function receiving the Letter of Credence from Guillemo Marin Gorbea, Ambassador Designate to the Kingdom of Spain.
Furthermore, not a single media outlet in the country has reported that the president was hospitalised.
Conclusion
Therefore, Yekeh Kolubah’s post that President Boakai is undergoing surgery is false.
