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Claim: A Facebook user named Biggy Smalls posted an image of a busy bus station with several buses and the Sierra Leone flag. The caption reads, “Bus Station in Sierra Leone.”
Verdict: False. The image is not real. DUBAWA’s investigations reveal that the image is AI-generated and does not depict a real bus station in Sierra Leone.
Full Text
The Facebook post by Biggy Smalls shows a big and clean bus terminal with many colourful buses and a large crowd. A Sierra Leone flag is also flying in the middle of the scene. The user claimed this was a real bus station in Sierra Leone. The post received over 1,400 likes, with people commenting and sharing the image, believing it showed a real location.
With the total number of engagements so far, the picture may be a source of misinformation. DUBAWA decided to investigate this as part of our mandate to combat misinformation and disinformation.
Verification
DUBAWA examined the image and found several clues, such as that it was created using artificial intelligence (AI) and not taken from a real bus station in Sierra Leone.
Unrealistic Signboard Text:
The writing on the building in the background is not in any known language. It looks like scribbles or gibberish. AI often generates strange or fake text when trying to imitate real signs. If it were in a real Sierra Leone bus station, the signs would be in English or local languages with readable names.
Blurry and over-smooth flag:
The Sierra Leone flag in the image appears unnaturally smooth and perfectly waving, with no indication of wind direction or natural folds. It seems to have been digitally placed or generated.
Bus designs are inconsistent:
The buses in the image are colourful but have unusual shapes, window designs, and odd placements. The names on the buses are either unclear or meaningless, another common trait of AI-generated images.
Too perfect and clean layout:
The bus station appears overly neat and symmetrical, which is uncommon for real-life, busy terminals. In Sierra Leone, even the main bus stations, such as Lumley, PZ, or Waterloo, do not resemble this. Real stations have more human activity, signboards, open stalls, and environmental randomness.
This picture is AI-generated. You can tell from the fake-looking crowd, the incorrect text, and the unrealistic architecture. It’s not a real bus station in Sierra Leone or anywhere else. DUBAWA used an AI tool called Illuminarty to run the image, and it is 77% AI-generated.
A reverse image search shows no match for this bus station anywhere in Sierra Leone or globally. This confirms that the image is not a photograph of a real place.
Conclusion
The image shared on Facebook is not from a real bus station in Sierra Leone. It was made using an AI tool.
