[kictanet] Day 2 on Fake News: Platform Responsibility

Fri Aug 18 11:49:09 EAT 2017

@ Peter Mbatha, maybe the focus is on media because media has been our
primary source of news for ages. In previous discussions, media was
identified as a key player in combating fake news because they can provide
reliable news.
However, there are many other avenues for solving the problem including
user education (was discussed on day one) and platform responsibility (day
2). If other resolutions are being missed out, please point them out.

On to your questions, the actors in my view are the political and many who
talk of propaganda as the ancestor of fake news seem to agree. The purpose
of fake news in our case seems to be polarisation of society and I think
that NCIC as the body charged with promoting cohesion of our nation could
play a role in combating it. The "when" would be that there was a rise
during the electioneering season in the same magnitude as Brexit in UK and
US 2016 elections. Where is of course on the Internet/social media and even
traditional media like radios etc.

Regards,

2017-08-18 7:59 GMT+03:00 Peter Mbatha via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>:

> Good morning listers,
>
> Been thinking about the discussion we have been doing for the last few
> days and hadn't given my opinion yet.
>
> Yes!  Come to think of it and tell whether we will ever get to the bottom
> of this issue labeled 'FAKE NEWS' after these long listed debates. We
> have had a good time to critically share on the issue but it ain't going to
> be resolved as soon as you may think.
>
> Besides the different opinions on the issues raised by 'MERCY MUTEMI',  we
> need to start by seeing the actors and actuators and of such alleged
> malpractices.
>
>  1. Who?
>  2. Why?
>  3. When?
>  4. Where?
>
> This is because we already have the 'what? = fake news '.
>
> The scenario won't be at all acomodative for the discussion because we
> have a BIG bias in what we are discussing already. We have within our
> capacity started accusing the agents(singked out media) who are actuators
> of the 'what'  in the above diacussion. This has labbel us as initiators of
> a good will which doesn't have a foundation and you exactly know what will
> happen; at the end of the day no outcome will be worth the time spent here.
>
> Once we are done,  with the above(we need to stop labelling media only in
> this) then the below
>
> *(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?*
>
> These raised questions will get answers that will lead to a conclusion and
> summary that will address the issue totally.
>
> Thank-you all.
>
> On Aug 18, 2017 07:00, "Du Toit, Jaco via kictanet" <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
>> Dear colleagues,
>>
>>
>>
>> Yes journalists have a role but also editors and media houses.  Regards.
>> Jaco
>>
>>
>>
>> [image: dotted_line]
>>
>> *Jaco du Toit *
>>
>> Adviser for Communication & Information
>>
>> UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa
>>
>>
>>
>> United Nations
>>
>> Educational, Scientific and
>>
>> Cultural Organization
>>
>>
>>
>> United Nations Avenue, UNON, Gigiri (Room 209)
>>
>> P.O. Box 30592-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
>>
>> Tel.: +254 (0)20 762 2346/2566
>>
>> Mobile: +254 (0) 728 610 912
>>
>> http://www.unesco.org/new/en/nairobi
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* kictanet [mailto:kictanet-bounces+j.dutoit=
>> unesco.org at lists.kictanet.or.ke] *On Behalf Of *Churchill Otieno via
>> kictanet
>> *Sent:* Thursday, August 17, 2017 9:58 PM
>> *To:* Du Toit, Jaco <j.dutoit at unesco.org>
>> *Cc:* Churchill Otieno <cotieno at gmail.com>
>> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Day 2 on Fake News: Platform Responsibility
>>
>>
>>
>> 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]
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 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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>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
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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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>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> *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.
>>
>>
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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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>>
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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.
>
>

-- 
Grace Mutung'u
Skype: gracebomu
@Bomu
PGP ID : 0x33A3450F
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