Let’s Honour The Fallen Heroes Not By Sharing Their Graphic Footages

Yesterday, we published an editorial reflecting on one of the darkest days in our recent history, the tragic helicopter crash on August 6, 2025 in the Adansi Akrofuom District. It claimed the lives of two respected ministers, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah and Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, alongside senior military personnel. These individuals were en route to Obuasi, committed to tackling the menace of illegal mining, when their mission was cut short by an unspeakable tragedy.

We paid tribute to their lives and the roles they played in shaping a better Ghana. Dr. Omane Boamah, the young medical doctor-turned-politician with presidential potential and Dr. Murtala Mohammed, the eloquent statesman and scholar. We called on Ghanaians to reflect deeply on the cost of illegal mining and the human sacrifices being made in our fight against it.

Today, however, we are compelled to address a growing concern that undermines the solemnity of this national tragedy the widespread circulation of gruesome and disrespectful videos from the crash scene on social media.

Barely hours after the crash, were various social media platforms flooded with unverified and graphic footage, allegedly showing the wreckage, some remains for the deceased individuals and other scenes from the tragedy. These videos, some taken by bystanders, are not only disturbing but utterly disrespectful to the deceased, their families and the institutions they served.

At a time when families are struggling to come to terms with an unthinkable loss, when a nation is draped in grief and when public discourse should be centered on unity and healing, what we have instead witnessed is a reckless appetite for virality and sensationalism.

The Chronicle strongly condemns the sharing, reposting and distribution of any form of video content related to this horrific crash. We are deeply concerned about how quickly such sensitive material was disseminated, with no regard for the dignity of the dead or the emotional well-being of their families.

The families of the victims do not deserve to relive their trauma every time they open their phones. The Ghana Armed Forces does not deserve to have its personnel reduced to content for clicks. And the political leadership of this country should not be subject to voyeuristic scrutiny in death.

We, therefore, make a clarion call to all Ghanaians: delete any videos or images you may have downloaded related to the helicopter crash. Desist from sharing them in WhatsApp groups, reposting them on TikTok or forwarding them via Facebook or Instagram. It is not news – it is trauma.

As for us in the media, we have a special responsibility. Our duty is to inform, educate and uplift, not to exploit pain for engagement. While reporting on events of national importance, we must strike a balance between public interest and human decency.

No breaking news is worth retraumatising a grieving family. No exclusive footage is worth sacrificing the moral fabric of a grieving nation. Too many people now see traumatic events not as moments for reflection but as opportunities for content creation. We must ask ourselves: Is this who we are becoming?

If so, then we are headed down a dangerous path.

The best way to honour them is not through sharing graphic footage but through a renewed national commitment to integrity, to accountability and to peace.

Let us mourn with decency. Let us report with dignity. Let us live with empathy.

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