2022 in Review: Top trends that made social media in Ghana go berserk

Trends have moved from physical to virtual with the advent of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, etc. A trend on these platforms is synonyms to hundreds of thousands of conversations by real people through their mobile devices.

2022 trends in Ghana have mostly been around negative news concerning public figures and influencers as well as some positive news of achievements and success.

To round up the year, here are the highlights of social media trends that emerged in 2022.

Police arrest Agradaa over alleged church scam

On Sunday, October 13, 2022, the Ghana Police Service arrested the evangelist Mama Pat after some church members claimed that she had scammed them after an all-night service in a money-doubling scheme.

The Accra circuit court granted bail to the founder of Heaven Way Champion International Ministry Leader in the sum of GH¢150,000 with three sureties on October 24, 2022.

Nana Agradaa was charged with seven counts, including defrauding her church members through false pretenses in court.

She was re-arrested and, on November 24, 2022, was released again.

She made her first public post on Instagram later, inviting her 'die-hard' members to converge at the Heaven Way Champion International Ministry at Weija in Accra on Sunday for their first Sunday service, and they turned up in their numbers.

I will be leaving Ghana in August - Anne Sophie announces

On August 26, 2022, Ghanaians held a beautiful send-off party for the French Ambassador after serving for four years in the country.

Many of the popular faces in the Ghanaian entertainment and media industries attended the event.

The likes of Stonebwoy, John Dumelo, Abeiku Santana, KiDi, Kuami Eugene, actress Kalsoume Sinare and her legendary husband Tony Baffoe, MzVee, and Salma Mumin, among many others, were present.

Asibolanga: Mzbel tops social media trends with the release of her explicit song

Another person who made a waves this year is Ghana's hiplife artiste, Mzbel, who released the explicit single 'Asibolanga', which fans tipped to be a banger following the buzz around it.

Fans sensed danger shortly after Mzbel announced that she was working on a song titled "Asibolanga," and dubbed it the long-awaited diss song to her former friend, actress Afia Schwarzenegger, who is nicknamed Asibolanga, a term originally used by Nana Tornado.

Before the release, excerpts of the song were used multiple times by social media users, especially on TikTok, to promote their videos.

Court issues bench warrant against Afia Schwarzenegger, Mr. Logic; McBrown fined GH¢60,000

The Tema High Court issued a bench warrant against Valentina Nana Agyeiwaa (Afia Schwarzenegger) and Emmanuel Barnes (Mr Logic) for contempt following some comments the two showbiz personalities passed on a lawsuit that Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi) filed against the comedienne.

According to Chairman Wontumi, who spoke to GhanaWeb, the High Court on Thursday, December 1, 2022, issued a bench warrant against Afia Schwarzenegger and Mr Logic after a sitting.

Nana Ama McBrown, who is the host of United Showbiz on UTV, the channel on which the said comments were passed, was fined GH¢60,000, said Chairman Wontumi. He added that Fadda Dickson, the Managing Director of Despite Media who doubles as the Executive Producer of the show, and Kwame Asare Obeng (A Plus), a panelist on the show, have also been fined GH¢60,000 each. In default of the fine, they would serve a one-month jail term.

The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is in court with Afia Schwarzenegger after the socialite proclaimed publicly that she had been in an amorous relationship with the politician.

Afia restated her allegations on the United Showbiz show hosted by Nana Ama McBrown with two co-panelists, A Plus and Mr. Logic also making pronouncements on Afia’s allegations despite the matter being before the courts.

On July 14, 2022, Chairman Wontumi subsequently dragged Afia Schwarzenegger, Nana Ama McBrown, Kwame A Plus, Mr Logic and Fadda Dickson before the court for contempt.

Meanwhile, attempts to reach the lawyers of the five personalities have proved futile.

Moesha Budoung surfaces after reports that she had psychosis

Repented Ghanaian actress cum socialite, Moesha Budoung, resurfaced on the internet after Afia Schwarzenegger claimed that she was suffering from a mental health condition called psychosis.

In a new video shared by blogger, GhHyper, where he interviewed the actress, she looked nothing like it was rumoured by the mother of two on social media.

According to Moesha, she lived under the radar while promising to be back with nothing but her best self.

Stonebwoy performs at 2022 FIFA World Cup Fan Festival

Ghanaian dancehall musician, Livingstone Etse Satekla, popularly known as ‘Stonebwoy’ performed at the 2022 FIFA World Cup Fan Festival in Qatar.

The multi-award-winning dancehall artist was one of several African artists who performed for thousands of football fans at the Mundial.

Stonebwoy performed alongside Nigerian stars, Patoranking and the ‘Buga’ hitman Kizz Daniels, as well as Sean Paul and Julian Marley from Jamaica.

Nigerian superstar, Davido, who featured in the official World Cup song, also performed at the tournament's closing ceremony.

Celebrities react to news of NPP MPs calling for Ofori-Atta to be fired

Another trending topics on social media was celebrities calling for the finance minister's resignation.

Some Ghanaian celebrities and media personalities waded into the ongoing discussion about some 80 MPs who had demanded the sacking of the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.

Amid the ongoing hardships in the country, there have been unanimous constant calls from citizens for the resignation of the economic gatekeepers, particularly the finance minister.

Surprisingly, a few NPP MPs in Parliament have recently joined the campaign.

Responding to this development, which created some excitement on Twitter, scores of Ghanaians, including some celebrities, shared their opinions.

The likes of Nana Aba Anamoah, Bridget Otoo, Kwame A Plus, Lawyer Ntim, Ohemaa Woyeje, Kafui Dey, and many others shared their thoughts cents on the issue.

ADA/BOG