![]() Media houses are also under pressure, with the Communications Authority of Kenya, which is in charge of licensing and regulating broadcast media, threatening to revoke the licences of media outlets that report on anti-government protests organised by the opposition. Physical attacks on journalists and the increase in online threats, harassment, and intimidation have had a chilling effect. The current political administration that came to power after the 2022 elections regularly claims that the media are biased against them. 1 Fake polls and videos were widely shared and the platform was widely criticised for lack of effective content moderation, allowing millions of people to engage with content that was intentionally misleading or even incited violence.Īlthough guaranteed by the constitution, respect for press freedom and free expression in Kenya are constrained by political and economic realities. The platform – usually known for sharing dancing and makeup videos – became the network of choice for political mercenaries during the elections according to a report by the non-profit Mozilla foundation. The election period coincided with rapid growth in the use of TikTok for news, up 14 percentage points in the last year, according our survey. Increased efforts by fact-checkers such as AfricaCheck, Fumbua Trust, PesaCheck, and others to spotlight the misinformation on WhatsApp and Facebook may also help explain why their use as a source of news declined. The growing appropriation of WhatsApp and Facebook as information-sharing platforms has raised serious concerns about the quality of information during a year dominated by elections and the subsequent challenge of the presidential outcome. Yet, trust in the news grew by 6 percentage points this year, perhaps because it acts as an important counter to a rising tide of misinformation and disinformation. ![]() The country’s fragile and polarised political environment and the tensions that follow presidential elections often determine the perceived credibility and reliability of the media. Last year’s presidential elections also highlighted the challenge from widespread political misinformation and disinformation through multiple social networks and messaging apps, despite laws designed to limit its spread. This year’s Reuters Institute Digital News report covered 46 countries and polled 93,000 respondents via an online survey.Kenyan media are considered to be independent by regional standards, but press freedom remains fragile. Kenya, on the other hand, ranked 116th while Nigeria ranked 123rd. The country also led the way in terms of media freedom, ranking 25th out of 180 countries according to another report by Reporters Without Borders referenced in the Reuters Institute report. This is despite having a lower internet penetration than both Kenya and Nigeria. South Africa, where 90% of news consumption was via digital means, led the way in terms of attracting web traffic, with News24, SABC News Online, and eNCA online garnering 70 million, 50 million, and 40 million visitors respectively. In Nigeria, where 93% of the surveyed population consumed news via online mediums, Legit.ng, Punch Online, and Pulse.ng led the way in terms of web traffic, attracting 46 million, 44 million, and 41 million visitors respectively. Citizen TV and Daily Nation followed suit with 58 million and 46 million visitors respectively. ke led the way in terms of attracting traffic, bringing in 62 million visitors. Both countries ranked second and fourth respectively, out of 46 surveyed countries in the world.Ĩ8% of Kenyans consumed news via online mediums, slightly down 1% from last year’s figures. Kenya led the way in terms of trustworthy news outlets at 63%, with Nigeria and South Africa following suit at 57% each. Majority of surveyed Africans believe that digital news outlets are trustworthy, according to a report by the Reuters Institute.Īccording to Reuters Institute’s 2023 Digital News report, on average, 59% of surveyed Africans trust digital news outlets “most of the time.”
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