[kictanet] Talk to NCIC Day 1: Users and Fake News

[kanini mutemi]

Good morning Listers,

Let me start of by thanking NCIC for their willingness to engage on this
issue. We look forward to a a great discussion and pragmatic proposals.

We had a discussion on this during the PRE KIGF ONLINE DISCUSSION DAY 2-
FAKE NEWS DURING ELECTIONEERING.
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxmvjvsBlX3dUmVfS3IyaTdkZ0U/view>
I will say at that time, the impact of Fake News was not apparent. Times
have since changed as we have now witnessed numerous 'Fake News' posts
which go viral within minutes. Following the election results, posts on
alleged instances of violence and of government action in parts of the
country have dominated social media platforms. On several occasions,
government officials, media houses and diligent citizens have come forward
to denounce these posts as 'Fake News'. Photos that were first presented as
true accounts of the situation on the ground were later discovered to be
old photos of past events. At the same time, there have been instances
where posts were quickly dismissed as 'Fake News' even when there was
evidence later on that they were indeed factual reports. There is therefore
a need for us to navigate through this issue carefully.

Just for the record, it was agreed previously that the definition we are
working with is Fake News refers to disinformation which GG aptly put
as: *fabricated
news that has no basis in fact, but is presented as being factually
accurate. *

With this in mind, I invite you to engage on the questions below:




*(a) Why is there an increase in the prevalence of Fake News recently?*



*(b) What is the role of different categories of users in combating Fake
News?*



*(c) Have Kenyans given up or are there good practices in combating Fake
News?*


*(d) Is Fake News a manifestation of deeper societal issues and if so, are
there ways of combating it other than resolving the societal issues?*

*(e) We have Bloggers who are seen as influencers. Do they have a higher
duty when communicating?*


-- 
*Mercy Mutemi*.
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