Ghana's online political discourse is overwhelmingly driven by personality, not policy. A new analysis by IMANI Ghana reveals that approximately 70% of classified digital content focuses on individual figures. Only 30% contains identifiable policy substance, according to the July 2026 IMANI Public Understanding and Literacy for Sentiment and Election analysis (PULSE).
This significant imbalance indicates a digital environment where public sentiment is shaped more by individuals than by governmental actions or policy debates. The overall sentiment across platforms was mildly negative, registering at -0.069. This negativity was not uniform, stemming from various sources including criticism of the current administration and retrospective views on the previous government's economic record.
This trend fits into a broader narrative of Ghana's political landscape, often characterized by strong individual loyalties and partisan confrontation. The report highlights how economic indicators, despite generating both optimism and anxiety, frequently become subjects of partisan credit claims rather than objective policy discussion. This personalization of power can obscure critical examination of national economic strategies, such as the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review or the debt-to-GDP ratio. Such a focus can hinder informed public participation in crucial economic decisions affecting the nation's financial stability and growth prospects.
IMANI Ghana's report states, "The overall substance index stood at 0.303, indicating that approximately 30 percent of classified content contained identifiable policy substance, while roughly 70 percent was primarily personality-driven." This finding underscores the challenge of fostering substantive policy debate in the digital sphere. It suggests that political communication often prioritizes individual narratives over detailed discussions of economic performance, infrastructure, or employment initiatives.
The implications of this personality-driven discourse are significant for Ghana's political and economic future. Decision-makers and political parties must consider how to shift public attention towards policy substance, especially as the 2028 elections approach. A continued focus on personalities could detract from crucial discussions on economic reforms, institutional independence, and national development strategies. Markets and investors will watch for signs of policy clarity amidst the noise of personalized political narratives.
Former Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia and President John Dramani Mahama were central to these online conversations. Bawumia's discussions were mildly negative, with a substance index of approximately 0.16. Much of this focused on a controversy involving an associate and past economic records. President Mahama's conversation, while also personality-dominated, showed a broader policy scope. His discussions encompassed economic performance, infrastructure, employment, and environmental initiatives, even with 896 personality-oriented mentions versus 361 policy-related ones.
Different digital platforms exhibited varying degrees of this trend. TikTok was the most extreme, with only 10% of content being policy-related and 90% focused on personalities. Facebook, conversely, presented a more balanced picture, with approximately 49% policy-related and 51% personality-related content. Twitter/X generated the largest volume of mentions, 3,176, but its substance index was only 0.29, meaning 71% of its content was personality-driven. This platform-specific variation highlights the diverse ways political narratives are consumed and shaped online.
The report also noted that economic management and the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review were prominent topics on Facebook. Discussions included competing interpretations of government handling of illegal mining, the debt-to-GDP ratio, and infrastructure. Constitutional reform, digital-sector employment, and questions surrounding the Bank of Ghana also appeared. However, even on Facebook, personality politics, such as the Dennis Miracles Aboagye prosecution, garnered significant attention. This consistent pattern across platforms indicates a deep-seated preference for individual narratives over policy details in Ghana's digital political landscape.