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

Wed Aug 16 11:43:48 EAT 2017

Listers

I will attempt to address these questions.

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

Fake News is not a new phenomena. We can trace the origins of Fake News to
the origins of Propaganda. Originally the word Propaganda was derived from
a new administrative body of the Catholic church (congregation) created in
1622, called the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (Congregation for
Propagating the Faith), or informally simply Propaganda. Its activity was
aimed at "propagating" the Catholic faith in non-Catholic countries.

Propaganda is information that is not objective and is used primarily to
influence an audience and further an agenda, often by presenting facts
selectively to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using
loaded language to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to
the information.

So, looking at this from a wider perspective we have simply replaced the
word Propaganda with Fake News. More importantly the advent of the Internet
and Social Media has 'democratized' Propaganda and simply renamed it Fake
News. Leading up to the second world war the Nazi Regime of Germany went to
the unprecedented extent of creating a Ministry of Propaganda. The
Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (Reichsministerium
für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda, RMVP or Propagandaministerium) was a
Nazi government agency to enforce Nazi ideology. This is probably the most
infamous use of Fake News the world ever and in history. That is the extent
of how detrimental the use of Fake News can be - 6 million jews were
killed. Closer to home we know what happened in Rwanda during and before
the Genocide.

>From where I sit, the biggest culprits of Fake News the world over are
State Players as opposed to individuals. And more often than not it is used
for very specific political reasons. Let's look at the situation in Kenya
today and the use of deep analytics, big data and hyper targeting of
prospective voters to influence people's views and hence voting patterns.
The two major proponents in this election are both guilty of super negative
messaging using the above mentioned.

My humbly take then on this issue is that NCIC should do the following:-

1. Work with the big players in the Digital Marketing Space (Facebook,
Google, Twitter, Marketing Services Agencies, Major Brands and influencers)
to come up with a Best Practice Manual on how to:-
a) Dissuade players from using Fake News to influence audiences.
b) Explaining to players what constitutes Fake News and the negative
effects it has.
c) Education, Education, Education on what constitutes Fake news and how
not to (1) get influenced by them through detecting them and (2) spread
them.

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

The onus is on us as different players to understand and combat this new
Propaganda paradigm. The days of State Players being the only ones able to
use Propaganda as a tool is long gone. One thing I'd advise is for us to
help NCIC and other regulators to upgrade their regulatory tools to take
into cognisance the New Digital Reality.

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

Global Players like Google and Facebook are doing a lot in this area. We
can learn from them.  We as Kenyans should fight the Fake News phenomenon
irrespective of who is propagating it. I fear however that this is easier
said than done because unfortunately Fake News, like almost everything else
in this country, takes on Ethnic and Political dimensions.

*(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?*

As a society we need to look deep into ourselves and ask where we are going
as a country. We are more fragmented as a people than we are at
independence. Fake News is just a mirror of who we are as a people and as a
country. Our leaders are a reflection of us. If you want to see what is
wrong with this country look no further than the Mirror.

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

Each and everyone of us is an Influencer. At home with your kids, at work
with your colleagues, in the streets with your fellow Kenyans online with
your followers, fans and connections. What you say and do influences. The
'Pen' is a more powerful tool than a gun. Use it wisely.

Lastly, NCIC Vision and Mission is as below:-

*Vision*
A peaceful, united, harmonious and integrated Kenyan society

*Mission*
Develop and sustain processes that alleviate all forms of ethnic
discrimination and promote diversity through knowledge creation, capacity
building, advocacy and pertinent policy development

I ask them.

*What is the score card since you were inaugurated with the new
constitution and how can we all as Kenyans help you to help us achieve the
Vision?*

Regards

*Ali Hussein*

*Principal*

*Hussein & Associates*

Tel: +254 713 601113

Twitter: @AliHKassim

Skype: abu-jomo

LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>

13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,

Chiromo Road, Westlands,

Nairobi, Kenya.

Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely
mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the
organizations that I work with.

On Wed, Aug 16, 2017 at 10:02 AM, kanini mutemi via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> 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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