by Bedah Mengo
NAIROBI, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- University student Sylvans Omolo on Monday received a message on his phone which alleged that there was marking of ballot papers somewhere in western Kenya ahead of the Oct. 26 polls.
Omolo, a fourth-year education student, forwarded the message immediately to members of at least four WhatsApp groups he belongs to.
Each group has at least 50 members, so by a split of a second, Omolo spread the message which he could not verify its veracity to about 200 people.
And the people he spreads the message to similarly shared to others, with the content spreading across the country like bushfire.
"I share the messages to spread the content which I believe people should know. I get up to five such messages daily and I forward them," said Omolo, noting that he does not believe he is doing something wrong.
Other messages spreading on social media in Kenya include those castigating some communities, hate, fake news, threats and insults.
The fast spread of such messages as the east African nation heads to one of the most contentious polls on Thursday poses fresh challenges to the country divided along political party and tribal lines ahead of the Oct. 26 polls, which the opposition National Super Alliance (NASA), headed by Raila Odinga, has boycotted.
Citizens are either backing the ruling Jubilee Party's President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has vowed to ensure elections take place, or Odinga.
And social media is at the center of it all, with citizens discussing their partisan positions openly on platforms that include WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook.
"Voting is already underway in Mandera yet elections are three days away," a message with a photo circulating on WhatsApp was shared widely on Monday.
As with all other messages, there was no verification about the claims of rigging spread by the photo.
Aware of the threat social media platforms pose ahead of the elections, the government has moved to curb spread of hate, fake news and other messages.
The Communication Authority (CA) and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) on Tuesday warned citizens against the propagation of hate speech and other undesirable content on social media.
"As the Oct. 26 presidential election approaches, the attention has been drawn to misuse of electronic communications networks, particularly the social media platforms, to propagate hate speech and other undesirable content," said CA director-general Francis Wangusi and NCIC chairman Francis ole Kaparo in a statement. "Hate messages have potential to polarize the country along tribal lines and to perpetuate fear."
They urged bloggers, online news sites, political leaders and their followers to exercise restraint during this period.
"Website and blog administrators are asked to take extra caution by authenticating and validating source and truthfulness of content prior to publishing to limit spread of rumors," said Kaparo and Wangusi.
According to the 2008 NCIC Act, anyone who contravenes the law is liable for a fine of 9,708 U.S. dollars or imprisonment of three years.
Prior to the Aug. 8 polls, social media posed similar challenges with the CA threatening to shut the internet during the elections.
The problem has doubled ahead of the Oct. 26 polls as the opposition has boycotted the elections and urged its supporters to do so, with the online contest taking tribal lines.
Kenya has close to 10 million social media users, according to estimates by Social Bakers.
The majority of these users are aged between 18-24 and 25-34 years with 64 percent of them being male.
Odinga has opposed the gag on social media users, saying the platforms enhance freedom of expression.
"People should be allowed to speak freely," he said recently. "What is this animal called hate speech? It has not been defined."
Analysts noted that while social media has been used in Kenya to propagate good, it has also been used to promote the negative that include hate and fake news.
"The real shame of social media is that even those with nothing useful or constructive to say have the platform to share their ignorance, bias, foolishness and prejudice with everyone in a free-for-all public sphere," said Sam Kamau, a digital journalism lecturer at Aga Khan University.
