A new report by policy think tank IMANI Africa suggests that while Ghanaians remain highly engaged in political discussions online, much of that engagement is increasingly centred on political personalities rather than meaningful conversations about public policy and governance.
The findings are contained in the June 2026 edition of the IMANI Pulse report, which analysed 1,797 political mentions across Ghana’s digital information ecosystem during the 30 days ending June 30.
Unlike previous assessments that focused mainly on whether online conversations were positive or negative, the latest report examined the substance of political discussions, asking whether citizens were engaging with policy issues or primarily reacting to political leaders and partisan competition.
To make this distinction, IMANI introduced a new measurement called the Substance Index, which evaluates the balance between policy-driven discussions and personality-centred political conversations.
According to the report, policy discussions include debates on legislation, governance reforms, institutional performance, public programmes and policy outcomes. Personality-driven discussions, on the other hand, focus on political leaders, party competition, electoral positioning, credibility and partisan identity.
The analysis found that although national issues generated significant public interest, conversations frequently shifted away from policy details toward political actors and party affiliations.
Foreign policy emerged as the most discussed issue during the review period, recording 321 mentions. However, only 102 of those discussions—about one-third—focused on the substance of foreign policy, while the remaining 203 conversations, representing 67 per cent, revolved around political personalities and partisan narratives.
The report identified a similar pattern in conversations about infrastructure development. Rather than concentrating on issues such as project financing, procurement processes, engineering standards and maintenance, many online discussions evolved into debates over political leadership, accountability and the historical performance of competing governments.
IMANI also highlighted public reactions to the arrest and subsequent bail of the NPP-affiliated TikTok commentator popularly known as “Bawumia Ba” as another example of personality-driven engagement.
According to the report, the incident generated approximately 28,947 engagements across digital platforms, making it one of the most discussed political events during the reporting period. While the case raised broader questions about due process, freedom of political expression and law enforcement practices, public attention largely focused on its political symbolism and partisan implications instead of institutional reforms.
Despite these trends, IMANI noted that the high level of engagement demonstrates that Ghanaians remain deeply interested in governance, public policy and national affairs.
The think tank, however, argues that the quality of public discourse risks being diminished when policy discussions become overshadowed by debates about individual politicians and party loyalty.
“The June 2026 edition of IMANI Pulse reveals a Ghanaian digital political environment that is highly active, deeply contested and increasingly shaped by political personalities,” the report stated.
It added that although citizens continue to engage strongly with governance issues and national developments, those conversations are frequently filtered through partisan identity, leadership contests and political competition rather than sustained discussion of policy solutions and institutional performance.
