Claim: Victor Osimhen proposed to Regina Daniels after Nigeria’s semi-final loss to Morocco
Source: Social media (X, Facebook)
Verdict: AI-generated image
Researched by Samuel Nii Adjetey
Shortly after Nigeria lost their semi-final fixture against Morocco at the 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON), viral posts on social media suggested that Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen proposed to actress Regina Daniels on the pitch.
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The posts showed a photo of Osimhen on one knee with a ring in his hand, before Regina in the stadium. Victor’s teammates are captured in the background, cheering him up. You can see some of the posts here, here and here.
This fact-check will verify the authenticity of the viral image.
Fact-check
To verify the authenticity of the claim, GhanaFact checked the social media pages of both Osimhen and Regina and found that neither of them had made posts on the claim.
Additionally, we used the Hive Moderation platform to determine whether the image was AI-generated. The results showed the image was 96% “likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content.”
We also passed the image through the Google Gemini platform, and it returned a result indicating that “the image contains significant signs of being AI-generated or digitally manipulated, specifically through the presence of anatomical distortions and inconsistent digital textures.”
After evaluating the visual evidence and real-world context, Gemini said: “While the subjects, Nigerian footballer Victor Osimhen and the Super Eagles team, are real public figures, the specific image showing a midfield marriage proposal is an AI-generated fabrication”.
It added that “The distortions in the hands of background players and the garbled text on the stadium displays confirm this is a ‘deepfake’ illustration rather than a photograph of a real event.”
We also observed that no credible media outlet has reported on the claim.
Verdict
Based on the above information and analysis, the viral photo showing Victor Osimhen and Regina Daniels in an on-field marriage proposal is AI-generated, and the claim is false!
MIL – How to identify AI-generated images
AI-powered misinformation exploits public emotions around real events and public figures, as seen in the image of Victor Osimhen allegedly proposing to Regina Daniels after Nigeria’s AFCON semi-final loss.
Advances in AI have also changed the nature of information creation and dissemination, making it possible to generate highly realistic images that imitate real moments while gaining traction on social media without context or verification. This shift has weakened trust in visual content, as images that appear authentic can now be entirely fabricated.
- Look for anatomical distortions: AI-generated images often struggle with human anatomy, especially with the hands, fingers, and facial symmetry. In the Osimhen image, distortions in the hands of background players were a key indicator that the photo was not real.
- Check text and digital displays within the image: AI frequently produces garbled, misspelt, or unreadable text on banners, screens, or signboards. The unclear and inconsistent text on the stadium displays in the viral image strongly suggested digital manipulation.
- Assess context and real-world plausibility: Ask whether the event makes sense in a real-life setting. A marriage proposal immediately after a tense AFCON semi-final loss, with teammates cheering, raised serious doubts about the image’s authenticity.
- Use verification and detection tools: Running suspicious images through AI-detection and verification tools can provide strong evidence of manipulation. In this case, platforms like Hive Moderation and Google Gemini both indicated a high likelihood that the image was AI-generated or digitally altered, reinforcing the false verdict.
