Claim: A Facebook page, Makoni Times, posted a viral video, alleging that Sierra Leonean soldiers were being intimidated by Guinean Soldiers
Verdict: False! DUBAWA’s careful review found that the video is AI-generated and crafted to mislead the public.
Full Text
On February 22, 2026, Guinean forces detained 16 Sierra Leonean security personnel, consisting of both soldiers and police officers, in the border region near the Faranah Prefecture.
The General Staff of the Guinean Armed Forces claimed that dozens of Sierra Leonean soldiers entered Guinean territory in the Koudaya district, approximately 1.4 km beyond the border. They alleged the troops had “unlawfully” set up a tent and raised the Sierra Leonean national flag on Guinean soil.
Freetown maintained that its personnel were within their own territory in Kalieyereh, Falaba District. The government stated the team was constructing a border post and making bricks for an accommodation facility when they were “abducted” by Guinean forces.
While the soldiers were safely released and handed over to Sierra Leonean authorities on February 27, 2026, following high-level diplomatic intervention, the incident has reignited a long-standing territorial dispute.
However, a popular Facebook page, Makoni Times, posted a viral video, alleging that Sierra Leonean soldiers were being intimidated by Guinean soldiers.
In the video, more than a dozen individuals can be seen lying on the ground without military uniforms – being paraded above by some heavily armed soldiers. The narrator in the video praised the might of the Guinean soldiers in Krio.
The claim has accrued 1.7k likes, 136 comments, and 76 shares.
A similar claim is found here.
DUBAWA decided to fact-check the claim due to its potential to mislead the public.
Verification
Firstly, while it’s true that 16 Sierra Leonean soldiers were captured by Guinean soldiers, the video by Makoni Times is completely different from the authentic video of Sierra Leonean soldiers sitting on the ground.
What we found on the video:
AI Voice Cloning in Krio: The audio track likely uses “speech-to-speech” “text-to-speech” !AI. While the language is Krio, the cadence often feels robotic.
Contextual Mismatch: The video showed more than dozens of un-uniformed individuals lying on the ground with heavily armed military soldiers walking above them.
Inconsistent Insignia: There is no evidence that the individuals were clothed in the uniform of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces. We observed that the individuals lying on the ground had more feet, a pattern associated with Al-generated contents.
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s careful investigation showed that the viral video by Makoni Times is AI-generated.