By: Emmanuel Koranteng Asomani / Penplusbytes
The recent launch of Ghana’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy marks a defining moment in the country’s digital transformation journey, reflecting Ghana’s ambition to transition from basic digitisation toward an innovation-driven and AI-enabled digital economy. Spearheaded by the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovations, the strategy aims to position Ghana as an AI-powered society, with an emphasis on responsible AI adoption, local talent development, ethical governance, research capacity, and inclusive digital transformation.
While the strategy presents significant opportunities for economic growth and technological advancement, it also exposes an urgent national challenge. As Ghana accelerates toward an AI-driven future, the country must equally prepare citizens to navigate the risks associated with AI-mediated information ecosystems. AI is no longer only transforming productivity and innovation, it is also reshaping how information is created, consumed, distributed, and manipulated online.
Ghana’s AI Future Has Already Arrived
Barely weeks after the launch of the AI Strategy, the Ghana Police Service reportedly arrested 11 suspects for allegedly using AI-generated deepfake videos to impersonate President John Dramani Mahama and other public figures in online fraud schemes designed to deceive the public. This incident, one of many, reflects a growing global trend in which generative AI technologies are increasingly being weaponised for misinformation, impersonation, fraud, and digital manipulation.
More importantly, it signals that Ghana’s AI future has already arrived – both with immense promise and significant risks. The same technologies capable of transforming agriculture, healthcare, education, governance, and innovation are also being exploited to manipulate public opinion, impersonate public figures, commit fraud, and erode trust within digital information ecosystems. AI governance, therefore, cannot only focus on innovation and infrastructure. It must also address information integrity and democratic resilience.
Why Media and Information Literacy Matters in the AI Era
Beyond infrastructure and skills, AI governance must also build citizens’ ability to understand, question, verify, and responsibly engage with information in an increasingly AI-mediated environment. Ghana cannot build a responsible AI ecosystem if citizens are unable to recognize synthetic media, question suspicious narratives, understand algorithmic manipulation, or protect themselves from digital deception. It is within this context that Media and Information Literacy (MIL) become critically important. According to UNESCO, MIL is a set of competencies – knowledge, skills, and attitudes, that empowers citizens to access, retrieve, understand, evaluate, create, and share information and media content in all formats. It enables critical, ethical, and effective engagement with information, digital tools, and media platforms to participate in personal, professional, and societal activities.
As generative AI tools continue to become more accessible, misinformation and disinformation are no longer limited to poorly edited fake news stories or misleading social media posts. AI systems are now capable of generating highly convincing synthetic videos, cloned voices, fabricated images, and automated propaganda at unprecedented scale and speed. UNESCO has described this phenomenon as a growing “crisis of knowing,” where citizens increasingly struggle to distinguish between authentic and manipulated information.
Youth Vulnerability in AI-Mediated Digital Spaces
The challenge becomes even more urgent considering Ghana’s rapidly expanding digital ecosystem. According to DataReportal, Ghana had approximately 26.3 million internet users by the end of 2025, with internet penetration estimated at 74.6%. The report also estimated 8.59 million social media user identities in Ghana as of October 2025. In such a highly connected environment, AI-generated mis information and disinformation, manipulated videos, cloned audio, and political propaganda can spread rapidly across WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok, X, and YouTube before many users have the time or skills to verify them.
Young people are particularly vulnerable within these digital spaces. Although many are highly active online and often described as “digital natives,” digital participation does not automatically translate into critical digital competence. Many young people are skilled at creating content and navigating platforms, yet still lack the deeper competencies needed to detect manipulation, verify claims, understand AI-generated content, or resist emotionally manipulative misinformation. UNESCO has repeatedly emphasized that Media and Information Literacy is essential for helping citizens critically engage with information and navigate online environments safely.
Platform Accountability and the Limits of Regulation
The growing influence of algorithms and virality-driven digital culture further complicates the challenge. Social media platforms are designed to maximize engagement, often prioritizing sensational and emotionally charged content over verified information. As a result, mis information and disinformation frequently spread faster than factual reporting. The rise of monetized creator culture and viral content production also creates pressure for speed and engagement rather than accuracy and verification.
At the same time, responsibility cannot rest solely on citizens. The recent deepfake incidents raise important questions about platform accountability. If manipulated videos impersonating public figures can be amplified and widely circulated online, then digital platforms must invest more seriously in content moderation, AI-generated content labeling, detection of coordinated manipulation, and stronger safeguards against harmful synthetic media.
However, regulation alone will not solve the problem. Ghana’s ongoing policy conversations around misinformation and disinformation are important, but overreliance on criminal sanctions may create risks for freedom of expression if not carefully designed. Sustainable solutions require balancing rights-respecting regulation with public education, platform responsibility, fact-checking, and strong Media and Information Literacy interventions.
Building a Citizen-Centered AI Future for Ghana
Ultimately, Ghana’s AI agenda cannot succeed through technological advancement alone. The country must not only train people to use AI tools, but also prepare citizens to live safely, critically, and responsibly within AI-shaped information environments. Leadership in AI will not be measured only by innovation, investment, or digital infrastructure. It will also be measured by how effectively Ghana protects truth, trust, democratic participation, and citizens from manipulation. Translating this commitment into action will require coordinated effort across government, educators, journalists, civil society, and digital platforms, embedding MIL in school curricula, equipping fact-checkers and community communicators, and investing in locally grounded research on Ghana’s evolving information ecosystem.
If Ghana seeks to build an AI future that is ethical, inclusive, democratic, and resilient, then Media and Information Literacy cannot be treated as an afterthought. It must sit at the very center of the country’s AI agenda.
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