{"id":3895,"date":"2017-08-31T22:42:19","date_gmt":"2017-08-31T21:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amdf-centre.org\/?p=3895"},"modified":"2026-07-05T20:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T19:10:11","slug":"kenya-political-violence-highlights-urgent-need-to-fight-fake-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amdf-centre.org\/2017\/08\/31\/kenya-political-violence-highlights-urgent-need-to-fight-fake-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenya political violence highlights urgent need to fight fake news"},"content":{"rendered":"
Catherine Gicheru<\/a> |<\/div>\n
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Truth is always a casualty during any campaign season and it was no different during Kenya\u2019s recent presidential elections. A week before the August 8 vote, Facebook launched a highly publicized campaign<\/a>\u00a0meant to educate\u00a0Kenya\u2019s estimated 6.1 million Facebook users<\/a>\u00a0on identifying fake news.\u00a0The campaign included print and radio advertisements, while Kenyan users who logged into Facebook were immediately taken to a homepage listing tips for verifying news stories.<\/p>\n

Facebook\u2019s efforts came\u00a0amid concerns<\/a>\u00a0that the proliferation of\u00a0false news reports<\/a>\u00a0leading up to the election would increase tensions between Kenya\u2019s political parties. Indeed, the weekend after the election saw one of the\u00a0worst outbreaks of political violence<\/a>\u00a0in Kenya since 2007. The protests were accompanied\u00a0by various false reports<\/a>\u00a0on violent incidents that were widely shared on social media channels.<\/p>\n

As found in\u00a0a recent report<\/a>\u00a0by mobile survey platform GeoPoll, Kenyans do tend to trust traditional media organizations more than social media channels. However, this could suffer a severe blow, given that Kenya\u2019s media\u00a0arguably failed<\/a>\u00a0to adequately cover the post-election violence, which, according to the country\u2019s human rights commission, resulted in\u00a0at least 24 people dying at the hands of the police<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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While it’s difficult to say to what degree disinformation helped contribute to Kenya’s political tensions, fake news has been known to directly incite violence with devastating consequences in other regions…\u00a0<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This perceived failure to adequately report on the violent protests may have driven citizens to depend more on social media platforms to report on, and share news and images, of the incidents as they happened. These reports \u2014\u00a0some of them fake<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 were shared widely with little or no attempt at verification.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s difficult to say to what degree disinformation helped contribute to Kenya\u2019s current political tensions, fake news has been known to directly incite violence with devastating consequences in other regions\u00a0like South Sudan<\/a>. The spread of disinformation has also impeded Kenya\u2019s efforts to tackle some serious public health problems — for example, there is an oft-repeated and frequently debunked claim\u00a0that tetanus vaccines are laced with fertility inhibiting hormones!<\/a><\/p>\n

So in an environment where misinformation, fake news and rumours abound and where the lie travels faster than the truth, what are news organizations and journalists to do?<\/p>\n

Here are some suggestions:<\/p>\n

Seek opportunities for collaboration<\/h4>\n

I\u2019ve tried to do this with\u00a0PesaCheck<\/a>, Kenya\u2019s first fact-checking organization, which shares its material with multiple media partners in Kenya. Teaming up could allow news organizations to debunk lies and misinformation much more effectively.<\/p>\n

Make fact-checking the default<\/h4>\n

Both individual journalists and newsrooms should always exercise a healthy skepticism of what they read, hear and are told \u2014 it is their responsibility to check and corroborate what they share with their audiences.<\/p>\n

Support media literacy training<\/h4>\n

More than ever, it is imperative that citizens understand how to identify a well-reported story versus one that is is poorly sourced and propagandistic. Media literacy \u2014 learning how to identify what is and what is not true \u2014 should be taught at all levels of school.<\/p>\n

Create new opportunities in the newsroom<\/h4>\n

Given the frenetic pace at which news is published and distributed, as well as the wide range of potential sources for any given story, newsrooms have arguably never needed fact-checkers more than they do today. There are thought to be\u00a0over 120 fact-checking organizations in 49 countries<\/a>\u00a0across the globe, and the skill will likely grow more in demand, even as other types of newsroom roles\u00a0are in decline<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Amplify and diversify<\/h4>\n

Journalists and news organisations should amplify and diversify the voices of those who are trusted by the community. In Kenya, for example, there are voices such as\u00a0@kenyanpundit<\/a>,\u00a0@WanjikuRevolt<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0@KResearcher<\/a>,\u00a0who are among others who may not have formal journalism training, but they are trusted by their communities. Thus, in some situations, they can possibly be more effective than traditional media outlets\u00a0in debunking fake news and stopping the spread of misinformation.<\/p>\n

Catherine Gicheru<\/a> is a veteran Kenyan journalist working with Code for Kenya<\/a>. Learn more about her work as an ICFJ Knight Fellow here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Image cc-licensed by ObamaWhiteHouse.gov<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n