Claim: Reports show that club attendance has dropped by almost 50%, as people now focus on basic needs like food and transport
Source: Gary The Blogger
Full Text: A social Media blog with 732k followers posted a long write-up claiming that there is growing sadness in Liberia’s entertainment scene as many clubs continue to struggle because of the hard economy.
The Blog claimed, “What used to be places of joy, music, and happiness are now slowly going quiet. More than 50% of Liberians are living in poverty, and many people earn very little money daily. Because of this, going to the club is no longer something people can afford. Reports show that club attendance has dropped by almost 50%, as people now focus on basic needs like food and transport.”
Making a reference, the blog named Seny Club, owned by Seny Zou and located at the Duport-road Junction, is “expected to shut down completely.”
The post attached 1.1k reactions, 488 comments, and 32 shares as of the time of this check.
Verification: The Stage Media took keen interest in the part where Gary quoted a report that show club attendance has dropped by almost 50%, as people now focus on basic needs like food and transport.
To verify this claim, we checked the blog page and saw an orange mobile number that belonged to the blogger that was contacted.
In a telephone interview, this researcher requested the source of the statistics that the blogger quoted; however, he said there was no survey conducted by a creditable institution but an assumption.
In a follow-up, the TSM researcher reminded the blogger that the post did not indicate that the 50% was based on assumption but rather quoted a report, the blogger replied, “Yes, You know that everything is part of entertainment; you can’t be exact sometimes; it’s approximate. But the night in Liberia, you can see most of the clubs that we promote are shut down due to poor turnout and lack of facilities like no current and high gas prices, and people prefer to go to smaller bars to chill, so those bigger clubs are shutting down.”
To further verify the blogger claim, we check for data on the poverty index of Liberia. According to the World Bank, Since 2022, poverty has started to decline but is projected to remain below 50 percent from 2025.
The bank data shows that the recovery has been aided by stronger macroeconomic conditions—sustained GDP growth, moderating inflation, and ongoing economic reforms—yet poverty remains elevated due to structural constraints. A fast-growing population (2 percent annually), persistent rural poverty and rapid urbanization without adequate infrastructure intensify socio-economic pressures.
Even though the blogger named poverty as the root cause of the club closure, another social media influencer known as Eye of the gods in a social media video, named poor maintenance of the club facility, such as leakage, insecurity, and poor customer's service as a major factor that has led to people not attending the club, making reference to services provided at D’calabash that have stayed in business for a long time but still keep their consumers.
She requested the Sendy club to change their strategy if they must attract more consumers.
We contacted Adolphus Morris, commonly known as DJ Mo, in a telephone interview and told TSM that from his experience, the closure is due to hard economics.
According to DJ Mo, the club charges entry fees, something those entertainment centers do not usually do.
“What I observed is that nobody wants to go to the club. Take for example D’calabash, if you go there, you will only pay US$15 to enter and you will have a drink, so it is an opportunity cost. So, people will say if I have US$50, why should I go to Seny Club where I will pay US$20 to enter and left with US$30 where I will not be able to enjoy myself or when I carry someone, so they will just think wise economically and go to the entertainment center.
Speaking to poor consumer service, Mo said it is something that is normal across entertainment centers in Liberia, adding that it can not be the reason for the closure of the club.
Conclusion: After Speaking to the blogger, we discover that the data presented to the public is misleading. There has been no credible survey conducted to demonstrate that low club attendance is due to poverty data.
