[kictanet] Day 2 on Fake News: Platform Responsibility

Thu Aug 17 17:17:12 EAT 2017

One of the proposals made yesterday was that platforms should pull down
Fake News posts. Is this a desirable approach?

On Thu, Aug 17, 2017 at 5:01 PM, Eric Mugendi via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Here's my two cents on this from a fact checker's perspective:
>
>
> *(a) What is the effect of Fake News to the mainstream media?*Fake news
> tends to distract audiences and divert their attention away from the truth.
> It often mimics real news and taps into our biases and prejudices. If you
> see a fake story that says something you have long suspected to be true,
> even if the evidence appears dodgy, you are more willing to share it than
> another story that says the opposite of what you believe. As a resuly
>
> *(b) **What is the role of the Kenyan media in combating Fake News?*
> Kenyan media has the double role of debunking fake stories and propagating
> the truth. It is not enough to just point at a story and say that it is
> false, the burden is then on the media to point out the truth. They can do
> this by actively fact-checking the stories that are in the public domain,
> rather than just the stories they publish. Given the amount of trust that
> Kenyans have in mainstream media, one critical service that the media can
> do is to check what they write to make sure it is legitimate. They can also
> give members of the public an avenue to quickly check whether the stories
> they see on social media or receive via messaging apps are true before they
> share.
>
> *(c) **Is the Kenyan media doing enough?*
> I don't think so. A lot of times the fake stories that do get around tend
> to colour the narrative, so to speak, so in the end, you have a distracted
> media unwilling to invest resources into holding the things politicians and
> other public figures say, or what is published on social media for
> instance. Fact-checking is a continuous process, and it is essential in
> order to ensure that everyone is held accountable for what they say. So
> far, the media
>
> *(d) **What should platforms such as Facebook and Google be doing to
> reduce the effect of Fake News? Is there a need for localised solutions?*
> Facebook and Google are inherently neutral in this, in my opinion. This
> does not absolve them from the fact that their platforms are used to
> distribute fake news and other questionable stories. They have initiated
> methods to check verification, with Google adding a 'This story has been
> verified' tag on search results, and Facebook adding a banner on their site
> with information on how to verify if a story is legit, but these
> initiatives have a limited reach, given the fact that much of our news
> content falls outside their radar.
> As a result, we definitely need localized solutions. There are some like
> Nation's Newsplex that have taken on the task, along with the fact-checking
> segment on the Sunday news on NTV. However, seeing as these initiatives are
> part of the media establishment, they are unlikely to be critical of their
> own coverage. Truly independent initiatives such as PesaCheck
> <http://pesacheck.org> which I work on, and AfricaCheck, are able to
> navigate the space in a truly neutral way, and we are gaining some
> attention from the public. There is a need for more local initiatives
> because there are significant gaps in coverage, meaning that we can only do
> so much with the claims that we check.
>
>
>
> Eric Mugendi
> about.me/mugendi
> [image: Eric Mugendi on about.me]
>   <http://about.me/mugendi>
>
> On 17 August 2017 at 16:22, anyega jefferson via kictanet <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
>> I believe platforms must be held accountable. If a legal entity trades in
>> information, then it should have a responsibility to protect its consumers.
>> However, this may require a rethink of their role as non-publishers.
>> If, Mark Zuckerberg runs for POTUS, as it remotely seems, he will have to
>> contend with accusations of punishing alternative views and infringing on
>> free speech.
>>
>>
>> On Aug 17, 2017 14:11, "kanini mutemi via kictanet" <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>>> Good morning Listers.
>>>
>>> It's another great day to talk about Fake News! Day 1 we focused on the
>>> prevalence of Fake News and the role of different stakeholders in combating
>>> it. Now we move to *Platform Responsibility. *
>>>
>>> For those who are just joining us, KICTANet is carrying out a three day
>>> online engagement with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission
>>> (NCIC) on how to deal with Fake News. Feel free to share your proposals on
>>> possible interventions.
>>>
>>> Here are some questions to guide our discussion today:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *(a) What is the effect of Fake News to the mainstream media?*
>>>
>>> *(b) **What is the role of the Kenyan media in combating Fake News?*
>>>
>>>
>>> *(c) *
>>> *Is the Kenyan media doing enough?*
>>>
>>> *(d) **What should platforms such as Facebook and Google be doing to
>>> reduce the effect of Fake News? Is there a need for localised solutions?*
>>>
>>> Fire away.
>>> --
>>> *Mercy Mutemi*.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>
>>
>
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>
> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>
>

-- 
*Mercy Mutemi, Advocate*.
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