TikTok is one of the cyberspaces that Liberia, especially the youthful population, is adopting compared to Whatsapp and Facebook, which are widely used among 1.3 million users (26.4%) in Liberia as of 2021, a significant growth from 2.5% in 2010.
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Liberia’s 26th president, has over 40 years of experience in public service before becoming the country’s head of state in the run-off election ahead of former president George Weah in November 2023.
Stage Media (TSM) came across a TikTok handle of late with 17.2K followers and 49.3K likes, among others.
At the top of the profile of the above account is a quote: “26th President of the Republic of Liberia. LR JNB. No Business As Usual!” As of this check, the account had 19 posts, which implies it was recently created.
The first post was on August 17, 2024, tagged “Liberia Transition.” The post had 322 reactions, 9 comments, and 22 shares, while the most recent post was made on October 16, 2024, when President Boakai addressed the World Food Forum in Rome, Italy.
This post has 380 reactions and 5 comments.
For further verification purposes, an email was sent to Kula Fofana, Presidential Press Secretary, on October 8, 2024, and October 14, 2024, respectively, but she has yet to reply. When she responds, we will update this check.
Edward Brown, a cyber technician, believes that combating disinformation is especially crucial for young people, who are increasingly moving away from conventional media and toward social media for information.
He said, “The government must have a clear strategy for communicating with young people and adapting to the development of new apps and platforms that appeal to this audience.”
Conclusion: TSM can not independently verify whether the page belongs to Boakai. However, public members should be careful how they interact with said account, considering the red flay around it.
