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“No, it is not true at all. He does not hold the GWR title, and that is not our certificate.” This email from Madalyn Biefield, Public Relations Manager of Guinness World Records, splashed eggs on the faces of Ghanaian media. How could Chef Smith serve us a spicy tale, and how did we all fall for it? How could such a large-scale deception have taken place? The answers lie in a combination of social media virality, a compelling narrative, and the inherent trust people place in what appears to be official documentation. After months of silence on Ghana’s attempt to set a “thon” record, 2nd July 2024, seemed like the day destined for glory. Media houses were invited to cover a press conference for the award of a new Guinness world record for the longest cooking marathon to one Millennium Chef Smith who supposedly dethroned Alan Fisher’s 119 hours, 57 minutes, to set a rather unimaginable new record of 802 hours 25 mins. But why was Millennium Chef Smith’s achievement a big deal? Ebenezer Smith as he is formally known began his attempt at cooking for 1000 hours on February 1, 2024. Unlike other record attempters who had large crowds, social media hashtags trending in support and even senior government officials and politicians offering various forms of support, Chef Smith’s workstation at the Amadia Shopping Mall on the Spintex, community 18 road, rarely had any form of crowd in attendance (possibly partly due to the end of the festivities or a general fatigue by Ghanaians at these unsuccessful attempts). But Chef Smith believed even without support he was going to be the shining star for Ghana. His team would soon announce they had crossed the 100-hour mark, then 200, and on and on. Each passing day came with an ever-reducing crowd and after 33 days, Chef Smith and his team announced the end of the attempt, with a claim of cooking for 820 hours. This was met with a mixed reaction on social media with some alleging, the chef usually closed at about midnight each day and resumed cooking before sunrise and his few “fans’ showed up as a way building his cooking hours. Well, considering the skepticism and pessimism that surrounded Chef’s Smith attempt, to hear the rejected stone was about to be the cornerstone certainly must have been such a big deal you must admit. Held at the plush La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, by half past 3pm, it was clear to journalists that rushed to cover the press conference that this was no hearsay. The crème de la crème of media houses had their microphone stands and cameras placed strategically to capture this moment. Within minutes the announcement was made that Chef Smith had set a new record and a certificate presented to him as evidence of the feat. The “confirmation” received was at the point the biggest news in town and every media house tried to break the achievement to its audience. In no time, news cards, flyer, videos and articles circulated on social media rapidly. The state broadcaster and newspaper, GBC and Daily Graphic led the way. Oldest private media house, Joy News, following suit, GHOne TV, Citi newsroom, TV3, Ghana News Agency, Asaase Radio equally playing their role in trumpeting the record. With news bloggers and blog posts carrying the good news further, the netizens were to eat their humble pie as collectively, the nation celebrates the man who was flying the country’s flag high. Celebrating one of our own was an utmost priority as nothing else mattered, except it was all a lie. This Is The Real Truth!
