[kictanet] Day 2 on Fake News: Platform Responsibility

Thu Aug 17 23:02:10 EAT 2017

Churchill, it's good to hear that journalists are already looking for
possible solutions to Fake News. I look forward to this!

On Thu, 17 Aug 2017 at 21:58 Churchill Otieno <cotieno at gmail.com> wrote:

> What can journalists/media do? It might be helpful to note that the
> International Centre for Journalists (ICJF) is leading a global search to
> find clever things newsrooms around the world are doing, that may give
> truth the energy needed to compete or outpace fake news. What's emerging is
> that fake news feeds off emotions that it's recipients have already
> invested in, hence it has an almost opiumish pull. I'm part of this
> endeavor and we are also seeing quite some committed journalists, some in
> solo efforts, going hard to defend truth. Though it's still early days,
> expect some announcements in the coming weeks
>
> On 17 Aug 2017, at 17:17, kanini mutemi via kictanet <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
> 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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>
>
> 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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