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  • "The Fake is News": On Popu...
    Oduro-Frimpong, Joseph

    Journal of African cultural studies, 07/2021, Letnik: 33, Številka: 3
    Journal Article

    Three key questions guide this investigation into specific accusations of fakery related to some Christian religious leaders' acts in contemporary Ghana. The first question is: what do moving images and other popular visual forms (such as cartoons) contribute to assessments and accusations of fakery? The second question is: what can we learn from a close examination of religious leaders and their actions that citizens consider fake? The last question is: who gets to make public accusations of fakery on Ghanaian religious matters? I argue that the various analyzed cartoons and memes contribute to ongoing public discussions of the religious leaders as fake. I show how some of these religious leaders seem motivated by the need to be recognized as possessing superior supernatural powers which they exchange for material wealth. I draw attention to specific categories of Ghanaians, such as certain politicians with clout, to level accusations that these religious pastors are fakes.