Factual error: In the scene in Kono, one of the child soldiers is seen with a Game Boy Advance SP, which was released in 2003, but the movie takes place in the 90's.
Factual error: Throughout the entire movie, the vehicles are driven on the left side of the road. Sierra Leone drives on the right. This is likely because the filming locations of South Africa and Mozambique drive on the left.
Factual error: When Solomon is in London towards the end of the movie, one shot shows a new 2006 model Volkswagen Passat in the background, even though the movie takes place in the late 90's.
Factual error: When Solomon goes fishing in the morning, the sun is shown to have risen over the sea. In reality, the sun would rise over land, as Sierra Leone is on the West Coast, revealing the shot of the sunrise was taken elsewhere.
Factual error: At the end of the film when Solomon is in London we see a bendy bus behind him. The problem with this is that the film is set in the late 90s, but bendy buses were only introduced in London in 2001.
Factual error: The plane at the beginning of the film, a Gippsland GA8 Airvan, only existed as a prototype during the late 1990s when the film is supposed to take place. They were not produced until late 2000.
Factual error: Throughout the film Danny Archer wears a Breitling Chrono Avenger. The problem with this is that the film is set in the late 90s but the Chrono Avenger was only released in 2001.
Factual error: When Danny is at the beach bar, he asks Ahmed the bartender to give him the scoop on the government troops hitting Marampa mines. Iron ore is mined at Marampa, not diamonds (no diamonds at Marampa). Kono was the rebels' stronghold, and that's where the diamonds are.
Factual error: When Danny is walking in Freetown to sell the diamond that was hidden in his tooth, the diamond office's phone number posted starts with a 1 followed by 3. All Freetown landlines start with 22 then the number.
Answer: Bribery, false documents, smuggling. Take your pick.