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

Sat Aug 19 00:40:01 EAT 2017

*Hi Mercy, thank you for keeping th discusions alive.*

*Kindly see my comments below:*

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

*I have been doing a research on why we have an increase in fake news for a
few days now and what is suprisingly interesting is  the fact that most
"upcoming"  journalist/bloggers/sociologist if I may put it lightly are
fighting for recognition.*
*/online space. The concept of social media and sharing has made
people/bloggers/sociologist/journalists be fast on clicking submit/sharing
and ignore verifying the info they receive/share. These kinds of
"joulalists" if i may put it lightly are very fast in to submitting
unverified news/info for the sake of recognition and receiving receiving
sociAl recognition as the "origin" fake and legit news. In short they do
not really care the status of tehe news but to get more "likes/share"*
*"..........................................................................................................."*

*(b) What is the role of different categories of users in combating Fake
News?*
*".............................................................................................."*
* IMHO I have three role of user categories.*
*1. The platform admins: these are admins for different account and mostly
guys who should control flow of information but due due to many issues
arising from the restriction of flow of information ( whether verified or
unverified news) the defaults tend to be " allow all".*
*2. The posters: These are people who post the news. These are to me
regarded the most dangerous users and in a way should be restricted or
Managed by the admins.*
*3. The consumers*

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

*"..............................................................................................................................."*
*Not all Kenyans have. IMHO Most Kenyans are consumers of news compared to
producers of news. Most Kenyans just react to feeds they receive as
compared to generating the news. Most Kenyans ( just to be subjective based
on different feeds) to tend to react but initiate most 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?*

*"......................................................................................................."*

*IMHO I view most fake news are as a deeper societal issues like where one
has no idea or prefers airing their views that are not verified but to gain
a social media status. This is one of the main factors of fake and
unverified news.Kenyans ar now competing to "summit" but rather verify news
they are sharing.*

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

On Wed, 16 Aug 2017 at 10:10 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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-- 
Kind Regards,
Toilem Poriot Godwin

*Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness,
and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em — WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE*
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