NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - A report released in Kenya on Wednesday has warned of “fake news” ahead of the Aug. 8 general election, claiming 90 percent of citizens have seen deliberately misleading media reports.
The research by Portland Nairobi and GeoPoll is the first such news study in the East African nation.
It documented instances where Kenyans had been duped by malicious news. In one instance, people were led believe politicians of their choice had won party nominations which, in reality, they had lost.
“I heard rumors that Nderitu Muriithi won the Jubilee ticket, then I got the real information from the radio afterwards,” the report quoted one person as saying.
As in other countries, the report links social media such as Facebook to the spread of fake news.
“Ninety percent of respondents reported having seen false or inaccurate news in relation to the general election and 87 percent of respondents regarded this news as being deliberately misleading -- or fake news,” said the report.
Allan Kamau, the head of Portland Nairobi, the international communications consultancy that co-authored the report, said, “Our study found that Kenyans are already well attuned to spotting false information.
“Respondents cited conflicting data, controversial messages and biased reporting as the top factors that lead them to suspect something is false.”