Disinformation in Kenya's Political Sphere: Actors, Pathways and Effects

This study assesses disinformation in Kenya’s political sphere. Disinformation is already in full display at national and grassroots levels, as politicians woo a heterogenous electorate divided along ideological, ethnic, economic, and demographic lines. While there exist multiple laws, social media platform guidelines, and user awareness efforts, disinformation remains a difficult beast to tame. This is particularly so in the heated and polarised environment of Kenyan politics, coupled with the sophisticated technological tools, technical ability of its perpetrators to create and disseminate content, and a public that is not sufficiently aware of disinformation. The data for this study has been gathered through a review of legal and policy documents from government and social media platforms, as well as interviews with respondents from the government, academia, political parties, digital content creation, and mainstream media.