The Fake is News

On Popular Visual Media, Fakery and Legitimacy Contestations in Charismatic Christianity in Contemporary Ghana

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2173299
AutoresJoseph Oduro-Frimpong (0000-0002-0260-6706, Centre for African Popular Culture, Ashesi University Ghana, Accra, Ghana, autor de correspondencia)
Año2021
Volumen33
Número3
Páginas325-343
Fecha de publicación2021-07-03
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of African Cultural Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1369-6815 • E-ISSN: 1469-9346
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13696815.2021.1950524
OpenAlexW3199978800
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas12

Three key questions guide this investigation into specific accusations of fakery related to some Christian religious leaders' acts in contemporary Ghana. The first question is: what do moving images and other popular visual forms (such as cartoons) contribute to assessments and accusations of fakery? The second question is: what can we learn from a close examination of religious leaders and their actions that citizens consider fake? The last question is: who gets to make public accusations of fakery on Ghanaian religious matters? I argue that the various analyzed cartoons and memes contribute to ongoing public discussions of the religious leaders as fake. I show how some of these religious leaders seem motivated by the need to be recognized as possessing superior supernatural powers which they exchange for material wealth. I draw attention to specific categories of Ghanaians, such as certain politicians with clout, to level accusations that these religious pastors are fakes

Charisma · Christianity · Legitimacy · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Law · Media, Religion, Digital Communication · Philosophy · Postcolonial and Cultural Literary Studies · Religious studies