Press Freedom · Accra
Fourteen arrests in sixteen months: Ghana's 'false news' law and free speech
Critics, commentators and journalists have been detained under Section 76 of the Electronic Communications Act, raising alarm about expression.
6 June 2026
Al Jazeera reported 14 arrests in 16 months linked to allegations of publishing false news, prompting warnings about the state of free speech. The Media Foundation for West Africa has separately condemned what it calls the weaponisation of Section 76 of the Electronic Communications Act.
The provision is written broadly enough that a social media post, a radio comment or a critical report can all be treated as a criminal matter. Arrest itself becomes the punishment: a night in a cell, a phone seized, a story unfinished.
Press freedom is not a separate issue from the abuses on this site. Every case we document reaches the public through someone who was willing to publish it.
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