Spread of fake news on election major concern – observers
The spread of fake news is a major concern for the hundreds of observers deployed in the country.
In a statement read on behalf of the Commonwealth observer group, it was noted that some of the ‘fake news’ being spread were inflammatory and could spark protests.
Both BBC and CNN has fallen victims of the fake news and the two media house had to dissociate themselves from it. The Chair of the Commonwealth Group, former Ghana President John Mahama noted that both Jubilee and Nasa had ‘attack bloggers’ who were churning out stories.
PROPAGANDA
“Twitter was also used extensively for propaganda by political groups as well as members of the public during the heated campaign,” he said.
Mr Mahama said Kenyans should note that Facebook (South Africa) has issued a press statement on ways to spot and identify fake news.
He said a study for GeoPoll during the election period found that most Kenyans trust social media as a source for election news.
There were over 400 observers who were deployed, before, during and after the election. Some teams have indicated that they will remain on the ground to continue to observe the post-election period.
OBSERVERS
The European Union election observation mission also noted that a high number of well-produced false news items distributed on social media, reportedly in part by political camps, attempted to delegitimise genuine stories about political rivals.
The observers include African Union Election Observation Mission, led former South Africa President, Thabo Mbeki, COMESA headed by Dr Simbi Mubako, from Zimbabwe, Commonwealth Observation, EAC Election Observation Mission, EU Election Observation Mission headed by Marietje Schaake, a Dutch Member of the European Parliament and ICGLR Election Observation Mission led by Makumbi Kamya, an MP from Uganda.
Others are IGAD Election Observation Mission led by Tewolde Gebremeskel, NDI Election Observation Mission headed by Dr Aisha Abdullahi and the Carter Centre Election Observation Mission headed by John Kerry, Former United States Secretary of State and Aminata Touré, former Senegalese Prime Minister.
