BY Issah Olegor
A Ukrainian public relations agency, Brandcom, has firmly denied allegations that it worked with Ghana’s New Patriotic Party (NPP) during the 2024 general elections, describing media reports of a US$280,000 debt claim as entirely false.
The controversy began after several foreign news websites, including AllAfrica, South Africa Today, and MSN.com, published stories alleging that Brandcom had executed a coordinated social media smear campaign against then–National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate John Mahama at the request of the NPP.
According to the reports, the firm supposedly created fake social media accounts, memes, and videos to discredit Mahama in the heat of the 2024 election, and later accused the NPP of failing to pay $280,000 for its services.
The original article, first published by AllAfrica on July 31, 2025, claimed the accusations were contained in a “pre-litigation notice” allegedly issued by Brandcom.
Both South Africa Today and MSN.com sourced their versions of the story from AllAfrica, which in turn attributed its source to Washington-based InfoWire.
However, when Ghanaian fact-checking outlet GhanaFact investigated the claims, they found no evidence to support them.
Using the company’s official portfolio and contact details, GhanaFact reached out to Brandcom’s Managing Director, Iryna Petriv, via LinkedIn.
Petriv categorically denied any involvement with the NPP or any activities in Ghana.
“Brandcom Ukraine has NEVER operated in Africa. Our focus is Ukraine and Europe. We have nothing to do with the issues going on in Ghana,” Petriv stated.
The NPP also issued an official statement on August 3, 2025, dismissing the allegations as baseless.
Although the statement lacked a signature, the party’s Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagbah, confirmed its authenticity to GhanaFact, reiterating that the NPP had no dealings with Brandcom or any foreign PR agency during the 2024 campaign.
Further scrutiny revealed that MSN.com had already taken down its version of the story.
The persistent circulation of the fake news, however, highlights the growing challenge of combating misinformation in the political space—particularly in the aftermath of a contentious election.
Based on the responses from both Brandcom and the NPP, GhanaFact concluded that the claim of a $280,000 debt for campaign services was false. The verdict: completely unfounded.
This incident adds to a series of recent cases where unverified foreign-sourced political stories have entered the public discourse, underscoring the importance of verification before publication—especially during politically sensitive periods.
