Claim: A Facebook user, Abubakarr Foday Kamara, posted a viral photo of President Julius Maada Bio and Momodu Kamara, popularly known as Jagaban, linking up at State House.
Verdict: False! An AI detection tool flagged the image as 96 per cent likely to be AI-generated. There is no verified record of President Julius Maada Bio meeting with Jagaban.
Full Text
At the centre of social media conversations in grassroots and political circles alike is Momodu Kamaran, widely known by his popular moniker, “Jagaban.”
With a reputation for philanthropy, grassroots mobilisation, and a distinct, high-energy approach to community engagement, Kamara’s political ambitions are fast becoming a defining talking point ahead of the nation’s next political cycle.
Jagaban is not only making inroads into Sierra Leone’s competitive political landscape, but he is also positioning himself as the APC’s flagbearer.
Despite his APC membership, Jagaban has faced criticism within the party for perceived ties to the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).
However, a Facebook user, Abubakarr Foday Kamara, posted a viral photo of Jagaban and President Julius Maada Bio at the State House. The claim reads: “Jagaban 4 President finally linked up.”
The claim is archived here.
DUBAWA decided to fact-check the claim due to its potential to mislead the public, particularly ahead of Sierra Leone’s next electoral cycle.
Verification
A Google keyword search found no evidence to support the claim. DUBAWA also checked the official Facebook pages of President Julius Maada Bio and Jagaban, but neither contained any reference to such a meeting.
DUBAWA then ran the image through an AI detection tool, which found it was 96% likely to be AI-generated.
Image of a screenshot of the AI detection result/Source: AI Image Detector
Further checks in another digital forensics tool, airornot.com, showed a 99 per cent likelihood of AI-generated.
Image of a screenshot of the AI detection result/Source: AiorNot.com
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s investigation confirms that the image is AI-generated. There is no verified record of President Julius Maada Bio meeting with Jagaban, and neither party has issued an official statement acknowledging such an encounter.