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

Wed Aug 16 12:45:01 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

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.

Ali Hussein
Hussein & Associates
+254 0713 601113 / 0770906375

Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
Blog: www.alyhussein.com

"Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought".  ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi

Sent from my iPad
> 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.
> 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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